Mr. Medvedev mentioned nuclear weapons if Sweden, Finland join NATO

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council – Photo: REUTERS

Finland, which shares a 1,300km border with Russia and Sweden, is considering joining the NATO alliance.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said that if Sweden and Finland join NATO Russia will have to strengthen its land, naval and air forces in the Baltic Sea.

Mr. Medvedev also pointed out the nuclear threat.

“There will be no further discussion of any non-nuclear status with the Baltics,” said Mr. Medvedev, who was Russia’s president from 2008-2012.

Mr. Medvedev hopes Finland and Sweden will see what makes sense. Otherwise, they will have to live with nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles close to home.

“No ordinary person wants higher prices, higher taxes or increased tensions along the border. Iskanders missiles, hypersonics and nuclear-armed ships are just miles from their homes (Finland and Sweden). ) near an arm. Let’s hope that our northern neighbors think rationally,” Medvedev said.

According to Reuters, Mr. Medvedev’s comments reflected the thinking of the Kremlin and he is a senior member of the security council – one of the main organs of Russian President Putin in making decisions on war issues. comb.

Possessing the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear warheads, along with China and the United States, Russia is one of the world’s leading countries in hypersonic missile technology.

Lithuania believes that Russia’s threats are nothing new. In fact, Russia deployed nuclear weapons to Kaliningrad long before the war in Ukraine broke out.

Specifically, in 2018, Russia said it had deployed Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad, which the Red Army captured in April 1945 and ceded to the Soviet Union at the Potsdam conference.

NATO did not immediately respond to Russia’s warning.

The possibility of Finland and Sweden joining NATO would be one of the biggest strategic consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Kaliningrad, formerly the port of Koenigsberg, is located less than 1,400km from London and Paris and 500km from Berlin.