KALININGRAD, May 6. /TASS/. The statement by a former Bundestag member about the need to strip the Kaliningrad region of missile weapons so the EU can go back to geopolitical superiority in the Baltic Sea basin could "lead the EU to the graveyard" in the event of real aggression, member of the Defense Committee at the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) Andrey Kolesnik said in an interview with TASS.
In an interview with the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, former head of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentary faction Rolf Mutzenich stated that EU countries should insist on the withdrawal of Russian medium-range nuclear-capable missiles from Belarus and the Kaliningrad Region. According to the former MP, this will allow Europe to regain its "dominant role."
"Let them mind their own business. If they try to confiscate these weapons from us, Europe will find itself in a graveyard, not in the geopolitical region of the Baltic countries. They must understand this. Acts of aggression against the Kaliningrad Region, I believe, could force us to use these weapons indiscriminately. Unfortunately, although Russia always uses its weapons selectively, without targeting civilian objects. Therefore, such statements are unnecessary. They are testing us, testing the waters, trying to see how we will react. All these efforts toward the Kaliningrad Region are rather pathetic," the lawmaker said.
Kolesnik drew attention to the active formation of military units in NATO countries bordering the Kaliningrad Region, in particular, the tank battalion being created in Lithuania. According to him, in the event of aggression against the Russian region, it will become one of the primary targets of the Russian Armed Forces.
"A tank unit with headquarters in Vilnius is currently being deployed in Lithuania. It’s clear who we will target first if necessary. And this tank unit, incidentally, a German one, will no longer exist," he noted.
The motorized infantry division was officially established in the Lithuanian army in January 2025. The largest military unit in the country’s armed forces is the brigade (3,000 to 5,000 personnel). The division is planned to be fully staffed and deployed to operational capacity by 2030 on the basis of the Gelezinis Vilkas, Zemaitija, and Aukstaitija brigades. It will consist of approximately 20,000 personnel, including artillery and engineering regiments, a reconnaissance battalion, and a battalion of Leopard 2 tanks, which are being purchased from Germany.