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| Europe |
| NATO warns Moscow as Putin ally says Russia ‘considering' attack on Lithuania |
| 2022-06-28 |
| [Washington Examiner] A restriction on railway shipments from mainland Russia across Lithuania has put a harsh spotlight on a dangerous boundary between NATO and Russia. "We have more than 40,000 troops under direct NATO command, most of them in the eastern part of the alliance and many of them in the Baltic region," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday. "The purpose of this increased presence is to send a message that we are ready to protect and defend every inch of allied territory, including of course Lithuania and the other Baltic countries." Stoltenberg issued that reminder amid an unfolding controversy over Lithuania’s announcement that Russia would not be permitted to ship certain commodities, such as cement, across Lithuania rail lines to Kaliningrad. That restriction, imposed under the auspices of European Union sanctions, was met by a flurry of cyberattacks and Russian state media broadcasts that Russian President Vladimir Putin could initiate a war of conquest against Lithuania. "We understand perfectly well that when the [Russia] armed forces achieve the goals set by the president and reach the western border of Ukraine, the rest will certainly not be about Ukraine," Russian lawmaker Andrey Gurulyov said this weekend in a state media broadcast translated by the Russian Media Monitor’s Julia Davis. "Yes, the taming of Lithuania is being considered." Gurulyov, a former senior Russian general, insisted that the combination of Russian energy resources and military capabilities would allow Moscow to win a war against NATO — and claimed that he had studied target lists during his military career. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |