Putin's aide: The Russian President issued instructions to ensure the security of Kaliningrad

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The Russian President's Assistant and Head of the Russian Maritime Authority, Nikolai Patrushev, stated that Vladimir Putin has issued all the necessary instructions to ensure security in the Kaliningrad Oblast, and that the relevant authorities are implementing them with the utmost precision.

Patrushev said during a working meeting with the Governor of the Kaliningrad Oblast, Alexei Besprozvanykh: “We discussed the issue of ensuring security in the Kaliningrad Oblast... The President has issued all the necessary orders to the relevant authorities, and they are working on this matter with utmost precision.”

Russia had warned NATO that it would be prepared to use nuclear weapons if the alliance tried to isolate Kaliningrad, a Russian region located on the Baltic Sea.

Russia accused the alliance in a document it sent to it of following a "dangerous and reckless path" that entails "high risks that threaten the outbreak of a direct armed conflict."

The document stated that this includes the possibility of “Russia launching strikes on decision-making centers in NATO member states once the conflict erupts.”

The diplomatic document stated: “Russia will be ready to use the entire arsenal of forces and capabilities available to it, including nuclear weapons, in order to defend its territory if NATO countries make any attempt to isolate the Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country.”

The warning highlights Russia's deep concern about what it sees as a growing threat from the alliance to Kaliningrad, a heavily fortified military region located between Poland and Lithuania.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated that the alliance responded to Russia's message by saying, "We are a defensive alliance. Stop making nuclear threats. This is completely unjustified and useless."

The alliance said in a written response that “none of the alliance’s activities or training poses a threat to the territory of the Russian Federation.” He added, "We call on the Russian Federation to end its unjustified all-out war in Ukraine. We urge it to refrain from increasing reckless behavior towards allies and to stop its irresponsible nuclear rhetoric."

Asked whether the risk of nuclear weapons being used against the Baltic states was now real, Rutte responded at a defense conference in Brussels: “No, it is not. Putin knows that he can never win against NATO, so I do not take this matter very seriously.”

In addition to this secret warning, Russian embassies in at least three European countries issued statements over the past three days accusing the alliance of escalating tensions through military exercises and potential planning related to Kaliningrad.