RUSSIA has warned it could use nuclear weapons to defend Kaliningrad if NATO attempts to isolate the Russian exclave from the rest of the country, while the alliance rejected the threat and said its activities posed no danger to Russian territory.
In a diplomatic note sent to NATO and seen by Reuters, Moscow accused the Western military alliance of pursuing a dangerous and reckless approach that carried a high risk of triggering a direct armed conflict.
“Russia will be ready to use the entirety of its forces and capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if NATO countries make any attempt to isolate the Kaliningrad Region from the rest of the country,” the note said.
The document also warned that Russia could consider attacks on decision-making centres in NATO member states from the outset of any conflict.
The warning underscores Moscow’s concerns over what it describes as growing NATO threats to Kaliningrad, a heavily militarised Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea between NATO members Poland and Lithuania.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte rejected the warning and called on Moscow to stop its nuclear rhetoric.
“We are a defensive alliance. Stop the nuclear threats. It is totally unwarranted and unhelpful,” Rutte said.
In its written response, NATO said none of its exercises or activities posed a threat to Russian territory.
“We urge the Russian Federation to stop its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We urge the Russian Federation to stop its increasingly dangerous actions against member states and stop its irresponsible nuclear rhetoric,” NATO said.
Asked whether there was now a genuine risk of Russia using nuclear weapons against the Baltic states, Rutte told a defence conference in Brussels organised by broadcaster Euronews that there was not.
“No, it is not real. Putin knows that he will never be able to defeat NATO, so I do not take this too seriously,” he said.
Russia also said European factories producing weapons for Ukraine constituted legitimate military targets.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said European countries were directly involved in the conflict through their military support for Ukraine, adding that such support was delaying a settlement to the war.
Nikolai Sokov, a Vienna-based nuclear analyst and former Russian diplomat, said it was becoming increasingly difficult for Western countries to continue expanding support for Ukraine without risking a direct confrontation with Moscow. - October 2, 2026
