NATO concerned – Why Putin aims to control the Baltic Sea? | DW News

Ukraine’s President Vladimir zelinski claims Moscow is planning more quote provoc provocations in the Baltic region he was speaking during a visit to NATO’s newest member Sweden zelinsky’s comments follow incidents last month where it appeared Russia was calling into question some of its borders the Baltic Sea long a buffer zone between Russia and the west but tensions have been rising in the Baltic after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted previously neutral Finland and Sweden to join NATO which is now seen by Moscow as an even bigger threat the Western military Alliance which also includes the former Soviet Baltic republics now surrounds practically the entire Baltic Sea highlighted here in blue only the kaliningrad exclave and Gulf of Finland are controlled by Russia last month MOS set off alarm Bells with this statement by the defense Ministry saying that the state border of the Russian Federation at Sea will change the statement was retracted hours later without clarification but Russia noted that the political situation in the region had changed fundamentally since the last border measurements in 1985 Kremlin spokesman Demitri pesov said you see how tensions have escalated and what the level of Confrontation is especially in the Baltic this of course requires us to take appropriate steps to ensure our security one area that could be affected is Russia’s kaliningrad exclave between NATO members Poland and Lithuania countries can restrict ships rights of Passage within their territorial Waters marked here in yellow but not in their exclusive economic zone here in blue extending 200 nautical miles from Shore the other area affected could be the Gulf of Finland and it Islands the Waterway between what are now NATO members Finland and Estonia was historically Russia’s gateway to Western Europe here the territorial waters are even closer which could lead to confrontation more easily Russia’s neighbors say they are watching moscow’s moves closely we are and we have to be well prepared against all kind of threats coming from Russia but now it’s it’s time to be Cal and and look very carefully what’s what really is happening maybe they are testing us another flash point in the region is Sweden’s island of goland the island which is now NATO territory lies strategically right smack in the middle of the Baltic Sea in 2005 goland was demilitarized in a gesture of peace and cooperation but in the wake of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine Sweden has rearmed the island and reinforced troop numbers Sweden’s top military Chief has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin has his eyes set on gotland for its strategic position he recently told a German news outlet that Putin’s goal was control of the Baltic Sea let’s get some analysis now with Anna Vander director for northern Europe at the Atlantic Council she joins us from the Swedish Capital Stockholm now why is the Baltic Sea so important for Putin well the Baltic Sea has always been important uh for Russia it’s about uh maritim Power it’s about the most efficient way of uh Supply and trade routes routes for for Russia and uh they also have the Enclave of kaliningrad Highly militarized uh as we saw here on the maps with an anti-axis area denial uh bubble created there since about a decade uh and with very Advanced weapon systems so this is a crucial area for for Russia and has always been now Russia’s defense Ministry has posted a document outlining its plans to redraw the Baltic Sea borders um only to remove it hours later what do you make of that well that’s that’s a very classic Russian way of of doing things uh it’s a bit of The Upside Down world to uh act um uh to intimidate and to create insecurity and doubts and then um create tensions and then uh The Next Step would be to act on that and say that they need to increase their security because of the tensions they have created so um I think this is just what we have seen part of their Shadow war of their hybrid activities that they have conducted ever since the illegal annexation of Crema in 2014 actually for this region now many say that by adding Finland and Sweden to the club NATO has essentially boxed Russia in is it surprising that Russia would lash out well it started with Russia acting aggressively as I mentioned in 2014 uh we had then for instance an intense submarine hunt in the Swedish archipelago we had a range of Russian intrusions into our airspace we had Russia conducting uh exercises uh training with nuclear weapons and and air fighter jets so they have been acting very assertively in the region uh for a long time and that’s why Sweden and Finland uh decided to join NATO uh so you have to to keep in mind what what came first so to say and Russia’s aggressive behavior has came first now you’ve listed a few incidents what what’s your read on Russia’s latest maneuvers do you think that Moscow really wants a confrontation with NATO well Russia uh has said that they are in in confrontation with NATO for quite some time now in their official documents and it serves the purpose of of having an enemy abroad and strengthening the regime inwards and the war in Ukraine also serves this purpose uh for the Putin regime uh so unfortunately we see this both in the military sphere and not least in the hybrid sphere uh with vast disinformation cyber attacks sabotage uh and so on uh GPS jamming um the weaponization of immigrants it’s just uh all over um and unfortunately from the Russian perspective they are already confronting the west and NATO do you think that NATO has been too timid so far in its response to Russia ‘s aggression yes unfortunately it is a fact that Russia understands the language of strength and the West has not really shown that uh in 2014 after the Russia illegally annexed Crimea uh the US actually decreased its overall defense spending Germany became energy dependent uh on Russian gas uh and we also have not deterred Russia in the hybrid sphere so we need uh quite drastically now to increase our defense spending only 21 out of 32 NATO allies will reach the 2% of GDP Target at the NATO Summit in July and this needs to accelerate not only to help Ukraine but also to strengthen our own defenses that’s a language that Russia understands and that could serve uh for the next step to if we are strong Russia will be more willing to negotiate and calm down anav isander there the director for northern Europe at the Atlantic Council many thanks for sharing your expertise with us thank you

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Moscow is planning more ‘provocations’ in the Baltic region, following incidents last month where it appeared Russia was calling into question some of its borders. He was speaking during a visit to NATO’s newest member Sweden. Tensions have been running high in the region, following NATO’s Nordic expansion, further increasing its presence on Russia’s doorstep.

Chapters:
00:00 Baltic states urge calm amid Russian ‘provocations’
03:19 Anna Wieslander, Northern Europe Director at the Atlantic Council

#balticsea #russia #nato

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44 comments

  2. Remember russia started this when nato started encroaching on their borders…. nation by nation. They weren't supposed to move east an inch and those counties that are all joining nato and were formally declared independent from russia under the understanding that they would remain neutral, but nato has asked for an inch and took a thousand miles. Russia aint bluffing anymore

  4. Don't wait for the US to move a task force to the Baltic anytime soon. It will be up to the Baltic states including Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Finland and the other smaller states and Poland to defend it. Better get busy.

  11. 5:43 what came first was nato went not am inch but thousand miles too the east .. Russia even wantvto join nato.. gave cheap gas to Europe what did you do … alienated russia … you proxies a war for russias grievance that you dud not listen.. now again you complain😢😢😢😢

  13. NATO's provocations and subversions since the dismantling of the Warsaw Pact and collapse of the Soviet Union. Western lies honey-coated to hookwink the world.

  15. It hilarious to see the western media quoting a clown's hallucination as military intelligence, wonder why the clown does not know what is happening in his won country (Russia opening a new front in Kharkiv came as surprise to the clown) yet he claims to know about everything outside of his country 🤣🤣

  20. The Baltics since the 30s, check the direction of wind and become enthusiastic cheerleaders for who ever is running the show…..Rest of the World, who….

  22. Officially registered losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine only since the beginning of the year (from January 1, 2024) exceeded 160 thousand people, and for the entire time of ITS more than 550 thousand people.

  25. Russia is not Iraq, Lybia, Syria, Egypt Yemen, Afghanistan or Serbia. West now faces real strong opponent, before they were super power coz their elite soldiers were fighting with men who had only pistol or ak-47, now with Russia all 87 allied countries fear even in dreams

  28. Yes, we are watching Russia's moves in the Baltic, just as we have been watching China's move in the South China Sea, and Russia's move in the Arctic, and China's move in the Antarctic. We are very good watchers.

  36. The headline amd thumbnail is false again another false information purposefully being shared to the public but warmongers in a bid to put fear to the public ,who is provocativing who here

  41. We humans will never be able to learn living together with peace. What a shame and we call ourselves intelligent creatures.

  42. Indeed, the Soviet Union aggressively withdrew its troops from Eastern Europe, after which NATO peacefully stationed its troops around Russia.

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