Russia reinforces Baltic positions with new troops

Russia announced on Wednesday February 27 that it will set up a tank regiment and a coastal defense missile battalion in the Baltic region. The deployment is scheduled to be completed in 2019 but no specific time frame was brought forward. Both military formations are to be attached to the Russian Baltic Fleet. Although the location of the deployment was not mentioned by name, it is expected that both military formations will be stationed in the Kaliningrad Region.



By stationing these formations in the Kaliningrad Region, Russia further strengthens its position in the Baltic Region. Kaliningrad is geographically isolated from the Russian mainland and effectively surrounded by NATO forces. The increasing in military formations in the Baltic Region allows Russia to defend its positions in this region to a higher degree. At the same time, the deployment follows the pattern of Russia using the Kaliningrad Region as a heavily defended bastion in the same way the Soviet Union defended its isolated maritime bases.

The deployment is also a further development along the established pattern of NATO and Russian interactions in the Baltic Regions. Russia's agressive actions in the Crimea has strained its relationship with NATO. As a result, NATO deployed more forces on a rotary basis towards Poland and the Baltic Region, further tilting the balance of power in favor of Russia. As such, the new deployments can also be seen as Russia seeking to restore the balance of power.

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