Baltic countries set to call Putin's bluff

 Washington Examiner:

Russia threatened to deploy nuclear weapons near the Baltic Sea if Finland and Sweden apply to join NATO, but eastern flank allies regard the threat as a laughable effort to intimidate the Nordic states.

“It’s just rhetoric, because they have nukes in Kaliningrad already,” a senior European official said. “It’s just meant for the public, actually, to frighten the public and parliamentarians in Sweden and Finland as well. But they shouldn’t be stupid.”

...

Rattling his nuclear threat hasn't stopped NATO from arming Ukraine and Putin's war has actually pushed the baltic states into joining NATO.  The war in Ukraine has actually weakened Russia militarily.  Russia's losses in manpower and armaments continue to be significant.  The war has also exposed the inferiority of its army and its arms.

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