Putin makes surprise trip to the heart of Europe as he visits World War II flashpoint enclave of Kaliningrad in chilling mockery of the West
VLADIMIR Putin today chilledly taunted the West by flying across the Baltic Sea into the heart of Europe, bypassing four NATO states.
The dictator, 71, came to visit Kaliningrada western Russian enclave packed with nuclear missiles and sandwiched between EU countries Poland And Lithuania.
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His unexpected and rare trip comes amid a wave of Western warnings about the threat of full-scale war with Russia in the coming years.
Russia's westernmost territory, Kaliningrad, is used as a headquarters for Russia's Baltic fleet and some of its most powerful armaments, including hypersonic missiles.
Today three Il-96 aircraft of the Rossiya special flight detachment flew from Moscow over the Gulf of Finland NATO states Finland And Estonia.
Putin is supposedly “Flying Kremlin” The presidential plane then hugged the coasts of the former Soviet states of Latvia and Lithuania before landing in Kaliningrad.
A Dutch Air Force NATO military A330-243MRTT reconnaissance aircraft was seen flying over the Baltic Sea off the east coast of the Swedish island of Gotland on high alert.
According to Russian reports, an RAF Boeing RC-135W electronic reconnaissance aircraft also approached the Kaliningrad region.
A French Air Force Beech 350 King Air ALSR reconnaissance aircraft also reportedly monitored Putin's arrival.
Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of child abduction of children brought to Russia from war-torn Ukraine.
He is now restricting his foreign travel and could be arrested if he visits Western and other ICC countries.
His spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that Russia had requested a security corridor while flying over neutral waters close to NATO territory.
“They always take a special security measure wherever the head of state is [Putin] is concerned,” he said.
“And of course they were involved in the [security] measure this time.
“I mean, whatever needs to be done to ensure the safety of the head of state is being done.”
Peskov denied that the dictator's visit to Kaliningrad was intended to incite the West, even though it was interpreted as such in Russia.
“This is not a message to NATO countries when the president visits the regions of the Russian Federation,” he said.
“It is not a message to the NATO countries.
Instead, Putin's mouthpiece claimed the high-stakes trip was aimed at “economic development” in the region.
“This is the main task, not sending messages.”
a leaked German military report last week suggested that Putin would likely move troops and more missiles to the US Baltic Sea enclave to fuel tensions with the West.
The bomb files suggested that such a move would be part of a long-term plan to invade and conquer the Suwalki Gap.
The more than 100-kilometre-long Polish-Lithuanian corridor connecting Belarus with Kaliningrad has been called NATO's 'weakest link' amid fears it will be a future battlefield for a war between Russia and NATO.
For the West it is the only land connection with the three ex-Soviet Baltic republics – Lithuania, Latvia And Estonia – which would remain vulnerable to Putin if the West lost control of the rift.
For Russia, control of the corridor would give Moscow a land link to Kaliningrad from Belarus.
Putin's provocative trip comes amid a wave of warnings lately from military leaders and policymakers about the threat of full-scale war with Russia in the coming years.
Downing Street was forced to ban conscription after the head of the British Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders warned that civilians would have to fight against Russia in a future war.
He stressed the need for ministers to “mobilize the nation” amid the threat of World War III, after accusing the existing army of being “too small”.
He said: “Our friends in Eastern and Northern Europe, who feel more acutely the proximity of the Russian threat, are already acting cautiously and laying the foundation for national mobilization.
“We will not be immune and as the pre-war generation we must prepare in the same way – and that is a nation-wide undertaking.
“Ukraine brutally illustrates that regular armies start wars; citizen armies win them.
Last week is one NATO The military chief warned the British to prepare for all-out war with Russia and be ready to join the fight.
Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer said the world is facing the “most dangerous and volatile moment” in history and that “large numbers of private citizens will have to be mobilized.”
During a crunch summit between NATO defense chiefs BrusselsBauer said: “We need to be ready across the spectrum… We need to realize that we cannot take it for granted that we will have peace.”
'And that's why we [Nato forces] are preparing for a conflict with Russia,” he announced.
The same day the Russian bellicose foreign minister Sergei Lavrov vowed that a “New World Order” was emerging and promised the West that their time of 'global domination' is over.
British Secretary of Defense Grant Shapps warned that Britain was “moving from a post-war to a pre-war world” with the British government. threat of a major conflict in the next five years.
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