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Russia warns of nuclear deployment Says Iskander and hypersonic missiles would be deployed Finland and Sweden mull NATO membership Lithuania: nothing new in Russia’s threats
LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) – One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies warned NATO on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland joined the U.S.-led military alliance then Russia would have to bolster its defences in the region, including by deploying nuclear weapons. Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the NATO alliance. Finland will make a decision in the next few weeks, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday. read more Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said that should Sweden and Finland join NATO then Russia would have to strengthen its land, naval and air forces in the Baltic Sea. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Medvedev also explicitly raised the nuclear threat by saying that there could be no more talk of a “nuclear free” Baltic – where Russia has its Kaliningrad exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania. “There can be no more talk of any nuclear–free status for the Baltic – the balance must be restored,” said Medvedev, who was president from 2008 to 2012. “Until today, Russia has not taken such measures and was not going to,” Medvedev said. “If our hand is forced well… take note it wasn’t us who proposed this,” he added. Lithuania said Russia’s threats were nothing new and that Moscow had deployed nuclear weapons to Kaliningrad long before the war in Ukraine. read more The possible accession of Finland and Sweden into NATO – founded in 1949 to provide collective Western security against the Soviet Union – would be one of the biggest European strategic consequences of the war in Ukraine. Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917 and fought two wars against it during World War Two during which it lost some territory to Moscow. On Thursday, Finland announced a military exercise in Western Finland with the participation of forces from Britain, the United States, Latvia and Estonia. Sweden has not fought a war for 200 years and post-war foreign policy has focused on supporting democracy internationally, multilateral dialogue and nuclear disarmament. KALININGRAD Kaliningrad is of particular importance in the northern European theatre. Formerly the Prussian port of Koenigsberg, capital of East Prussia, it lies less than 1400 km from London and Paris and 500 km from Berlin. Russia said in 2018 it had deployed Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad, which was captured by the Red Army in April 1945 and ceded to the Soviet Union at the Potsdam conference. The Iskander, known as SS-26 Stone by NATO, is a short-range tactical ballistic missile system that can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. Its official range is 500 km but some Western military sources suspect its range may be much greater. “No sane person wants higher prices and higher taxes, increased tensions along borders, Iskanders, hypersonics and ships with nuclear weapons literally at arm’s length from their own home,” Medvedev said. “Let’s hope that the common sense of our northern neighbors will win,” said Medvedev. Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said Russia had deployed nuclear weapons to Kaliningrad even before the war. “Nuclear weapons have always been kept in Kaliningrad … the international community, the countries in the region, are perfectly aware of this,” Anusauskas was quoted as saying by BNS. “They use it as a threat.” Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands of people, displaced millions and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States – by far the world’s two biggest nuclear powers. Putin says the “special military operation” in Ukraine is necessary because the United States was using Ukraine to threaten Russia and Moscow had to defend against the persecution of Russian-speaking people by Ukraine. Ukraine says it is fighting against an imperial-style land grab and that Putin’s claims of genocide are nonsense. U.S. President Joe Biden says Putin is a war criminal and a dictator. Putin says the conflict in Ukraine as part of a much broader confrontation with the United States which he says is trying to enforce its hegemony even as its dominance over the international order declines. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Hugh Lawson Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
title: “Russia Warns Of Nuclear Deployment If Sweden And Finland Join Nato " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-13” author: “Cindy Billups”
Author of the article: Reuters Guy Folconbridge Date of publication: 14 Apr 2022 • 2 hours ago • 3 minutes reading • 142 comments The flags of Sweden and NATO appear printed on paper this image taken on 13 April. Photo by DADO RUVIC / REUTERS
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One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies warned NATO on Thursday that if Sweden and Finland join the US-led military alliance, Russia should strengthen its defense in the region, including by developing nuclear weapons.
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Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometer (810-mile) border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining a NATO alliance. Finland will make a decision in the coming weeks, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday. Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s vice-president of the Security Council, has said that if Sweden and Finland join NATO, Russia should strengthen its land, naval and air forces in the Baltic Sea. Medvedev also explicitly posed the nuclear threat, saying that there could be no more talk of a “nuclear-free” Baltic – where Russia has the Kaliningrad enclave between Poland and Lithuania.
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“There can be no talk of a nuclear-free regime in the Baltic anymore – the balance must be restored,” said Medvedev, who was president from 2008 to 2012. “To date, Russia has not taken such measures and was not going to take them,” Medvedev said. “If our hand is good … keep in mind that we did not suggest it,” he added. Lithuania said the Russian threats were nothing new and that Moscow had developed nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad long before the war in Ukraine. The possible accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO – founded in 1949 to provide collective Western security against the Soviet Union – would be one of the major European strategic consequences of the war in Ukraine. Finland gained its independence from Russia in 1917 and fought two wars against it during World War II, during which it lost some territories from Moscow. On Thursday, Finland announced a military exercise in Western Finland involving forces from Britain, the United States, Latvia and Estonia.
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Sweden has not fought for 200 years and post-war foreign policy has focused on supporting democracy internationally, multilateral dialogue and nuclear disarmament.
KALININGRAT
Kaliningrad is of particular importance in northern European theater. The former Prussian port of Koenigsberg, the capital of East Prussia, is less than 1,400 km from London and Paris and 500 km from Berlin. Russia said in 2018 that it had deployed Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, which was captured by the Red Army in April 1945 and ceded to the Soviet Union at the Potsdam Conference. The Iskander, known as the SS-26 Stone from NATO, is a system of tactical short-range ballistic missiles that can carry conventional and nuclear warheads.
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August 2019 Test launch of a short-range Iskander missile at the Kapustin Yar military firing range near the Russian city of Astrakhan. Photo from the RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE / VIA REUTERS Its official range is 500 km, but some Western military sources suspect that its range may be much longer. “No sensible person wants higher prices and higher taxes, increased tensions along the border, Iskander, supersonic and nuclear weapons ships literally at gunpoint away from home,” Medvedev said. “Let’s hope that the common sense of our northern neighbors will win,” Medvedev said. Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said Russia had developed nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad even before the war. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson welcomes Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin ahead of a meeting on whether NATO membership will be sought in Stockholm, Sweden, on 13 April 2022. Photo by PAUL WENNERHOLM / TT News Agency / AFP “Nuclear weapons have always been kept in Kaliningrad; the international community, the countries of the region, know this very well,” Anousauskas was quoted as saying by the BNS. “They use it as a threat.”
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 killed thousands, displaced millions, and raised fears of a wider conflict between Russia and the United States – both of which are by far the world’s largest nuclear powers. Putin says the “special military operation” in Ukraine is necessary because the United States was using Ukraine to threaten Russia and Moscow had to defend itself against the persecution of Russian-speakers by Ukraine. Ukraine says it is fighting an imperial-style land grab and that Putin’s allegations of genocide are nonsense. US President Joe Biden says Putin is a war criminal and a dictator. Putin says the conflict in Ukraine is part of a much wider confrontation with the United States, which he says is trying to impose its hegemony even when its dominance in the world order is waning.
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