Russia has commenced tactical fighter jet exercises over the Baltic Sea to test the readiness of flight crews for combat and special operations.
The exercises involve firing from airborne weapons at cruise missiles and mock enemy aircraft while Russian fighter pilots are on round-the-clock combat duty to protect Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave.
Wedged between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic coast, Kaliningrad is Moscow’s westernmost state.
It houses the Russian Baltic Fleet at the port of Baltiysk, making it Russia’s only ice-free European port, as well as a number of well-equipped tank, infantry and artillery divisions.
Over the past decade, Russia has deployed to the region short-range Iskander ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads - in response to NATO and the US deployment of a ballistic missile defence system in Europe.
In the months before the Ukraine invasion, Russia had added even more firepower to the city.
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