Western media have increasingly taken the lead in warning of a Russian threat to the Baltic states, while Baltic officials urge calm, according to an LRT English Newsletter report on Friday.
For weeks, European intelligence agencies and some Western leaders have said Moscow could attack the Baltic states, with warnings ranging from disinformation campaigns to potential military action. These alerts followed an unannounced CIA chief visit to Moscow and reported warnings from Washington to Baltic governments. Russia has also issued a new nuclear threat, this time focusing on Kaliningrad.
Baltic leaders, however, stress that intelligence reports do not indicate a major imminent threat, though they acknowledge intensified sabotage and intelligence operations. British Admiral Tony Radakin told LRT he was concerned only about Russia doing “something stupid” that could trigger NATO’s collective defense. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated NATO’s readiness, though a Kremlin aide later misrepresented Sinkevičius’ remarks as downplaying the threat.
Adding to the confusion, the U.S. excluded the Baltic states, France, and the U.K. from a NATO meeting. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda dismissed the situation as “artificial hype.”
