Kremlin slams NATO plan as ‘trigger for WWIII’

Russian officials have strongly condemned a new NATO deterrence strategy that aims to unify the alliance’s ground response capabilities in Europe, warning that any strike on the Kaliningrad exclave would trigger serious retaliation, including the possibility of nuclear escalation.

According to Fox News, Moscow reacted angrily following a speech by U.S. Army Europe and Africa commander Gen. Christopher Donahue, who unveiled the “Eastern Flank Deterrence Line” on Wednesday during the Association of the U.S. Army’s inaugural LandEuro conference in Wiesbaden, Germany.

In that speech, Gen. Donahue emphasized NATO’s improved ability to neutralize threats in the Baltic region, particularly pointing out that Kaliningrad, Russia’s highly fortified territory wedged between Poland and Lithuania, could be taken down “from the ground… in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we’ve ever been able to do,” Fox News reported.

The remarks triggered a sharp response from Russian leaders.

“An attack on the Kaliningrad region will mean an attack on Russia, with all due retaliatory measures stipulated, among other things, by its nuclear doctrine,” warned Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Russian Parliamentary Committee on International Affairs, in comments to the East 2 West media outlet, as cited by Fox News.

Slutsky went further, claiming that NATO’s growing military posture presents a “threat to global security and stability” and accused the alliance of preparing for global conflict. “This is a plan to unleash World War III with a subsequent global standoff [and] no winners,” he said.

While Donahue clarified during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s "Special Report" that he was not directly threatening Kaliningrad, he reiterated the alliance’s ability to disable the region’s anti-access/area denial (A2AD) defenses. “There’s absolutely no reason why that A2AD bubble, to deter Russia, we cannot take that down from the ground,” he said.

The strategy is informed by NATO’s ongoing analysis of the war in Ukraine and aims to build faster, interoperable military-industrial coordination across allied forces, particularly along NATO’s eastern flank.

One critical area of concern remains the Suwalki Corridor, a narrow land strip less than 60 miles wide that serves as the only land link between NATO states in the Baltics and Poland. Simultaneously, it lies between Kaliningrad and Belarus, a close ally of Moscow.

“It’s Putin’s gap. It’s our corridor,” Peter Doran, Russia expert and adjunct senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. “Putin wants to close it. We must keep it open.”