Russia bolstering Baltic Sea presence to protect shadow fleet, Lithuania says

VILNIUS - Russia is increasingly concerned about the security of its Kaliningrad exclave and is bolstering its Baltic Sea presence to protect its shadow fleet, Lithuania’s intelligence official Julius Katinas said.

"Russia is concerned about its access to Kaliningrad, its operations in the Baltic Sea and the safety of critical infrastructure in the exclave, particularly regarding potential attacks from Ukraine. Consequently, Russia has increased its military forces in the Baltic Sea, which negatively impacts our region," Katinas told a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy and Security in the Lithuanian parliament on Sunday.

According to the official, Moscow has taken additional steps to secure its shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea, noting that similar activities have been recorded in Estonian airspace.

Katinas highlighted that Kaliningrad remains vital for Russia as an ice-free port and a logistics hub for operations in Syria and Africa. He also said the Baltic Sea serves as a crucial export route, carrying about 50 percent of Russia's oil exports.

He added that Russia is also employing GPS jamming in the region as part of its measures.

"Lithuanian citizens are experiencing disruptions at sea and in the air. Lithuanian ornithologists are also complaining that they cannot track bird migrations due to GPS interference," Katinas said.

The military intelligence official noted that while Russian land forces in Kaliningrad are currently reduced due to the war in Ukraine, Moscow is undergoing military reform aimed at strengthening its presence in the region.

"Once the war against Ukraine ends or is frozen, Russia will be able to redeploy a large part of its military forces from the Ukrainian front lines to the Baltic Sea borders," Katinas warned.