Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a surprise visit to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad yesterday. The city lies on the Baltic Sea and borders NATO member states Poland to the south and Lithuania to the north and east. It is seen as a potential flashpoint for a future conflict between the Atlantic Alliance and Russia. Putin's trip was his first since Finland, which lies across the Baltic Sea, joined NATO in April 2023.
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And in the meantime, Turkey has also officially ratified Sweden's membership in the alliance. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he supported Sweden joining the alliance, which would effectively turn the Baltic Sea into what some have called a “NATO lake.” Putin's visit to Kaliningrad was seen by some analysts as a “clear attempt to underline that the Baltic Sea is not a NATO sea.” And it also served to remind Kaliningrad residents that they are part of Russia and to show that Russia still has important military resources in the exclave in view of a possible open war.
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