Moscow sends a threatening letter to NATO: “Russia will be prepared to use the entire arsenal of its armed forces, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory”

Russia has sent NATO a letter of protest warning that it could use its entire military arsenal, including nuclear weapons, if Alliance member states attempted to isolate the Kaliningrad region from the rest of the Russian Federation. Moscow claims that NATO military exercises in the Baltic region, held in August 2026, simulate operations to control the enclave and increase the risk of a direct armed conflict.

The document was delivered through the Russian Embassy in Belgium, which denounced what it called an unprecedented intensification of NATO military activity along Russia’s western borders. Moscow called on member states to abandon measures it considers destabilizing and warned that, in the event of an attempt to isolate Kaliningrad, it could target decision-making centers in Alliance countries as well.

NATO confirmed receipt of the letter and responded by condemning Russia’s threats and its “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric.” The Alliance maintains that its exercises are defensive in nature and that it has the resources necessary to defend every inch of allied territory.

Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave located between Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea, with no direct land border with the rest of Russia. Tensions have intensified amid the war in Ukraine and NATO’s military buildup on its eastern flank.