The Russian fleet in the Baltic Sea conducted maneuvers with Iskander cruise missiles on Thursday in the Kaliningrad enclave, which borders two NATO countries – Poland and Lithuania.

Iskander missile systemPhoto: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / TASS / Profimedia

Electronic launches of “Iskander” missiles took place at a test site in the eastern Baltic enclave, the Russian Navy said in a statement, EFE and Agerpres agencies report.

The targets of the launches were hypothetical enemy positions located at a great distance, since Iskander missiles have a range of up to 500 kilometers.

In addition, during the exercises, the Russian military also tried to work out the operational change of the missile application area.

Russia’s Kaliningrad region, located between Poland and Lithuania (Photo: Aleksey Shirmanov / Alamy / Profimedia)

Ukraine says the Russian military is experiencing a critical shortage of ammunition, including the Iskander missiles widely used on the Ukrainian battlefield, for which Moscow has increased production at its weapons factories.

For its part, the Kremlin has warned NATO that it will take military “countermeasures” when Finland joins the alliance, including beefing up security on its western flank, particularly in Kaliningrad.

Such measures include an agreement with Minsk to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, which also borders Poland and the Baltic states.

Russia accuses NATO of inciting Ukraine to a quick counteroffensive to return the territories in Donbas and the south of the country to the administrative border with the annexed Crimean peninsula.

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