Putin threatens NATO with nuclear weapons if Baltic enclave cut off

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Western nations he’s prepared to use nuclear weapons to defend a Russian enclave on the Baltic coast.

Putin, speaking at a Moscow gathering of security experts on Thursday (Friday AEST), said his government had no plans to attack European countries and sought peaceful co-existence.

But he stressed Russia would deploy all weapons from its arsenal, including nuclear ones, if its most westerly territory, Kaliningrad – sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland – were threatened.

“This is inevitable,” he told the Valdai Forum.

“If it comes to a direct attack on the Russian Federation — in this case, we are referring to Kaliningrad, and perhaps other territories as well — the question of the Russian Federation deploying all the weapons at our country’s disposal will, of course, inevitably and immediately be on the agenda.”

Putin said Russia understood it would be facing “an enemy (NATO) twice our size”.

"And we will have to make use of our competitive advantages in this struggle. Yes, of course, France ​and Britain are nuclear powers – we understand that perfectly well and are fully aware of it," he said.

"But no one else possesses the kind of weapons that Russia has today. That is our competitive advantage."

Putin was speaking after NATO this week received a diplomatic note from Russia warning the Kremlin would be prepared to deploy nuclear weapons if Kaliningrad was cut off.

It echoed statements issued by Russian embassies in Europe which said that Moscow has “information that NATO is preparing (an) air and naval blockade of Kaliningrad and Kaliningrad region”.

The embassies in the UK and Ireland posted their statements on their Telegram channels.

“There should be no mistake — Russia would be ready to use all its arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if NATO countries try to isolate Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country,” the Russian Embassy in Ireland said in its statement.

NATO spokesperson Allison Hart confirmed that Russia had sent a written message to the US-led military alliance.

“We strongly denounce the threat of force, including any irresponsible nuclear rhetoric,” she said in a statement.

She insisted that NATO is not targeting Kaliningrad.

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The Baltic exclave is surrounded by NATO members Poland and Lithuania.

It is home to Russia’s main Baltic navy base and other military assets.

NATO countries have held a series of military exercises in the Baltic Sea region in recent months.

More are planned in October.

- With Reuters, The Associated Press