Russia has sent NATO a diplomatic note warning that it is prepared to use nuclear weapons if attempts are made to isolate the Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country. Reuters has seen the document, as reported by infohub.kz.
In the note, Moscow accused the alliance of a "dangerous and reckless course" that creates a "high risk of a direct armed conflict." The Russian side also allowed for strikes on decision-making centers in NATO countries from the very start of a possible clash.
"Russia will be ready to use its entire arsenal of forces and capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if NATO countries make any attempts to isolate the Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country," the diplomatic note says.
The Kaliningrad region is a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea coast, located between Poland and Lithuania.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow expects its warnings to reach their intended recipients. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called such messages diplomatic reminders to "hotheads in Europe."
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance is defensive in nature and urged Russia to abandon nuclear threats.
"We are a defensive alliance. And stop the nuclear threats. It is absolutely unnecessary and will not bring any benefit," Rutte said.
In a written response to the Russian note, NATO stressed that its exercises and other activities do not threaten Russian territory.
"We call on the Russian Federation to stop its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We strongly urge the Russian Federation to refrain from increasingly reckless behavior toward allies and to stop its irresponsible nuclear rhetoric," the alliance's response says.
Asked whether the nuclear threat to the Baltic states is real, Rutte answered in the negative.
"No, it is not. Putin knows he can never win against NATO, so I do not take it seriously," he said at a defense conference in Brussels.