WARSAW, Poland — Poland and Estonia expressed concerns Saturday that Russia has moved nuclear-capable Iskander ballistic missiles into Kaliningrad, a Russian region on the Baltic Sea, with one official saying Russia appears eager to dominate that body of water. Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said Poland considers the matter of “highest concern” and is monitoring the situation. The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the reasons of deployment of the ballistic missile systems in Kaliningrad “could be innocuous.”

There still are no comments of the Russian side in connection with the statement. “As part of the plan of combat training, missile troops units are engaged in training on a year-round basis, covering great distances of the Russian territory in various ways: by air, by sea, and under their own power.”

Wedged between NATO members Poland and Lithuania and the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad is vital to Russia’s strategic position.
Russian President Vladimir Putin deploys the nuclear-capable Iskander mobile short-range ballistic missile system to the Russian Kaliningrad exclave between Poland and Lithuania.