Ghosts of World War I: The Siege of Kaliningrad and the Prospects for a Dramatic Escalation in the Russo-Ukrainian War

Over the past few days, Western media attention has focused on the blockade imposed by Lithuania on the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, with many predicting an escalation in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine's allies.

And the senior adviser to the Atlantic Council, researcher Harlan Ullmann, warned - in

for the American website "The Hill - that, given the current hot spots, ghosts loomed on June 28, 1914, in which the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated." in Sarajevo;

Which formed the first spark of World War I in the same year.

A

published by the American magazine "Newsweek" said that this siege on the isolated Russian region, located between Lithuania and Poland along the Baltic coast, may cause a dramatic escalation in the Ukraine war.

Armed with nuclear missiles

Newsweek said in a report that Kaliningrad is located between two NATO countries, has a population of about one million, and is armed with nuclear-capable missiles.

She added that the isolation could turn into a new flashpoint for the war in Ukraine, as the Kremlin warned Lithuania of "serious consequences" of its application of European Union sanctions on some products, including coal, iron, oil and Russian steel.

However, Lithuania has vowed to uphold the blockade, which is part of European Union sanctions imposed over Russia's war in Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly threatened Poland and the Baltic states with military action since the "invasion" of Ukraine on February 24.

Estonian officials accused Russia of simulating a missile attack against their country and violating its airspace with a helicopter on June 18, the first time a Russian helicopter has entered Estonian airspace.

Article 5 of the NATO Charter

As members of NATO, Poland and the Baltic states enjoy the security guarantee enshrined in Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which states that an attack against one member of the alliance is an attack on all members, which means that other countries such as the United States - with the largest military power - Will be obligated to defend Poland, Lithuania and other Baltic states and join the war.

The National Center for Cyber ​​Security in Lithuania said - in a statement issued by the Ministry of Defense on Monday - that Lithuanian government and private institutions were subjected to a cyber attack.

Reuters reported that the Russian hacker group "Kelnet" claimed responsibility for the hack in response to the Baltic countries' halting the transfer of Russian goods to Kaliningrad.

Last Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, who said that the blockade imposed by Lithuania on the transit of some Russian goods "is like declaring war."

Putin told Lukashenko that he would supply Belarus with Iskander-M missile systems, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads and have an operational range of up to 500 km.