Major Russian Military Mobilization May Lead to Cold War-style Standoff

WARSAW – While frenzied discussions continue at NATO’s landmark summit in the Polish capital Warsaw, Russia is assembling huge numbers of military forces along its borders with Eastern Europe in what appears to be its first major standoff with the NATO military since the Cold War.

According to the Reuters news agency, the Russian military has been mobilizing troops and heavy armor units at various bases around Kaliningrad, a strategic exclave on the Baltic Sea that once known as the East Prussian city of Konigsberg before it was swallowed into the Soviet Union following the end of World War II.

The region is a crucial outpost between Poland and Lithuania, as well as sites further inland according to Reuters.

Reuters reported that Russian units have been installing sophisticated radar systems for the deployment of new missiles and anti-aircraft systems at Kaliningrad.

NATO officials say they also believe Russia is laying the groundwork for a sophisticated surface-to-air missile umbrella in Kaliningrad that would block the alliance's air access to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Poland.

Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz confirmed Russia’s buildup in Kaliningrad, saying the moves “are blatant anti-access activities, which are a serious threat to NATO and Europe as a whole.”

The West and Russia have been at odds with each other since Russia’s five-day war with Georgia in August 2008. Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in more than two years ago has plummeted relations between the two old adversaries to levels not seen since the Cold War.

Countries along Russia’s border – most of which were once part of the Cold War-era Communist Eastern Bloc – fear Moscow is planning a similar asymmetrical invasion seen in Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin looks to reassert his control over areas he considers historically part of Russia’s sphere of influence.

The Kremlin says it believes its borders are under threat as NATO forces draw closer to Russia.

Intelligence reports released just prior to the Warsaw summit indicated that Russia was likely to deploy advanced nuclear-capable offensive Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad by 2019 as a response to NATO’s newly installed missile shield.

By Nicholas Waller