00:00Common senses of common sense, Sumir Russia is once again making nuclear threats.
00:03Russia has strongly warned that if NATO member countries try to isolate Kaliningrad,
00:07Russia is prepared to defend its territory by mobilizing all available forces and capabilities,
00:12including nuclear weapons.
00:13They also criticized NATO, saying that it is taking reckless actions that carry a high risk of direct military conflict.
00:18In response, NATO stated in its reply to the Russian document that none of NATO's exercises or activities
00:23pose a threat to the territory of the Russian Federation.
00:25Mark Marketer, the NATO Secretary General, also said,
00:28We are a defensive alliance.
00:29Stop the nuclear threats.
00:30He criticized Russia's remarks, saying that this is absolutely unacceptable and not helpful.
00:35Since Russia and NATO have clashed publicly over the possibility of using nuclear weapons,
00:38this issue is difficult to see as just a simple diplomatic war of words.
00:41In particular, the reason Russia mentioned nuclear weapons is because of the military value of Kaliningrad.
00:46Kaliningrad is a Russian territory that is not connected to the Russian mainland by land,
00:50and it is located between Poland and Lithuania.
00:52This region is close to the Baltic Sea and is in a location that Russia can use to monitor Western
00:56Europe
00:56and the Baltic area, as well as to deploy its military forces.
00:59Russia has deployed Iskander missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads here.
01:03This region is also considered to play an important role in the military strategy of Western Russia.
01:07What Russia is concerned about is not only an attack on Kaliningrad itself,
01:10what Russia is thinking is that it could cut off the Baltic states.
01:13One example of this is the Suwaki Gap.
01:15The Suwaki Gap.
01:15The Suwaki Gap is about a 100-kilometer border area,
01:18and considering the military movements of Russia and Belarus,
01:21it is a region that NATO views as very important.
01:23From NATO's perspective, the defense of this area is directly connected to the land link of the Baltic states.
01:28If Russia takes control of this area,
01:29the land supply routes to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania could be severely restricted.
01:33For this reason, the Suwaki Gap has become a key area repeatedly mentioned in NATO's Eastern Front Defense plans.
01:38Recently, NATO's military exercises are also closely related to this situation.
01:41Last August, large-scale airstrike drills and electronic warfare exercises were conducted in northeastern Poland and the airspace of the
01:46Baltic states.
01:47The U.S. Air Force deployed the EA-37B electronic warfare aircraft for the first time.
01:50In September, large-scale exercises continued near the Suwaki Gap, close to Kaliningrad, and along the Baltic coast.
01:56NATO explains that these are exercises for the defense of its member states.
01:59But Russia sees the increasing NATO military activities around Kaliningrad as pressure on its own security.
02:04On top of this, military tensions between Russia and Europe have continued to rise since the war in Ukraine.
02:08European governments claim that Russia is expanding hybrid activities such as sabotage, arson, and attacks on defense and infrastructure,
02:15while Russia denies this and argues that the West is accusing Russia without evidence.
02:19Currently, as both sides' positions are in direct conflict and military tensions around Kaliningrad are rising,
02:23it is necessary to pay even closer attention to the security situation in the Baltic Sea and Eastern Europe.
