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‘Don’t mess with us’: Kaliningrad governor warns US against designs on Russian exclave

The governor also advised the US military to take a look into Russia’s history

Kaliningrad Vitaly Nevar/TASS

Kaliningrad

© Vitaly Nevar/TASS

VELIKY NOVGOROD, September 20. /TASS/. The United States should refrain from plotting to attack Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad because the technological prowess and morale of the troops deployed there empower it to fight off any adversary, Regional Governor Anton Alikhanov told TASS, commenting on a National Interest article, which claims that a US B-52 bomber "flew a mock cruise-missile attack" against Kaliningrad in March.

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Kaliningrad Region is well protected from US air attacks — top brass

"We are not going to be engaged with invitations but we certainly have no fear. We host the Baltic Fleet’s main base. Given the morale and the technical prowess of the troops in Kaliningrad, I wouldn’t advise anyone to risk messing with our military," he said on the sidelines of a conference dubbed "Living Environment: Cities" in Veliky Novgorod, when asked if the region feared such threats.

The governor pointed out that the US military should take a look into Russia’s history. "I would just like to recommend that all US generals read some history books about those who plotted against the Russian state and the consequences they had to face. Because the Russian people know how to respond to every American general who has plans. I think history should have taught our partners and opponents a lesson long ago," Alikhanov emphasized.

The National Interest reported earlier, citing independent analyst Steffan Watkins, that a "non-nuclear-capable B-52… flew a mock cruise-missile attack on Kaliningrad on March 14, 2019." According to Watkins, the aircraft took off from Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base in the US and "conducted a mock nuclear cruise missile strike on the Russian Federation, only turning around 60 nautical miles from Russian airspace" and landing at Royal Air Force Fairford in the United Kingdom.

"The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which lies between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea and is geographically separate from the rest of Russia, practically bristles with S-300 and S-400 air-defense missiles, Oniks anti-ship missiles and Iskander surface-to-surface missiles," the article said, adding that "US forces believe they know how to crack Kaliningrad," according to Commander of US Air Forces in Europe, General Jeff Harrigan.

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