Name: This 60-Mile Strip of Land Is NATO’s ‘Weak Spot’ Against Russia | WSJ
Uploaded: 2023-08-18T21:23:08.000Z
Duration: 4 min 57 s
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- [Narrator] This tiny strip of land in Eastern Europe

and lies in between two Russian military strongholds.

if Russia decides to attack NATO territory."

as fighters from the Wagner Mercenary Group

It's also home to Russia's Baltic Naval Fleet

but it's not linked to the Russian mainland.

The most direct route from Kaliningrad to Russia

but the Russian President's Alexander Lukashenko

allowed Moscow to use his country as a base

to launch the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russia could attack from two ends of the Suwalki Gap

Moscow would also gain more access to the Baltic Sea,

a crucial gateway for commercial shipping.

NATO has fewer options to defend its Baltic members by land,

through Poland to Lithuania by crossing the Suwalki Gap

could become congested with troops and military hardware.

The stakes were raised even higher in recent months.

First, fighters from the Wagner Mercenary Group

after aborting a mutiny in Russia in June.

Then, according to Belarusian television,

"Wagner troops began training Belarusian soldiers,

just three miles from the Polish border."

some of their border crossings with their eastern neighbor.

NATO has tried to strengthen its defenses in the region.

with around 1,000 troops have been set up

to spend 3% of their GDP per year on defense,

The leaders of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia

want NATO forces to be stationed in the region permanently.

NATO's defense capabilities in the area strengthened

with two new members, Finland and Sweden.

This opens up a gateway to reach the Baltics by sea and air

and tens of thousands of soldiers to the alliance.

Analysts say, "This makes a Russian invasion

means Kaliningrad is effectively encircled by NATO.

Any attack by Russia could leave the Exclave vulnerable

to isolation and blockade by the alliance.

is unlikely to launch an armed attack on the Suwalki Gap

while he has his hands full with Ukraine.

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This 60-Mile Strip of Land Is NATO’s ‘Weak Spot’ Against Russia | WSJ

vulnerable

crucial

potential

scenario