Disruption of the blockade: Patrushev discussed NATO's attempts to block shipping in the Baltic

Russia is shaping a new look of the navy, said Nikolai Patrushev, assistant to the President of the Russian Federation and head of the Maritime Board, during a visit to the Kaliningrad region. At a meeting with the governor of the region and the presidential envoy to the Northwestern Federal District, he discussed countering NATO's attempts to block Russian shipping in the Baltic. For this purpose, in particular, new military vessels are being built for the Baltic Fleet. A special role is assigned to submarines with hypersonic missiles, as well as aircraft and drones. Sea routes are becoming Kaliningrad's main supply artery amid Lithuania's threats to block transit through its territory. Experts are confident that the provocations of the North Atlantic Alliance will continue, but NATO will not dare to completely close the Baltic Sea to Russian ships.

The situation in the Baltic Sea

Countering NATO's attempts to block Russian shipping in the Baltic Sea was the main topic of the meeting led by Nikolai Patrushev, Assistant to the President of Russia and Chairman of the Maritime Board. It was attended by the Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the North-Western Federal District Igor Rudenya, as well as the Governor of the Kaliningrad Region Alexey Besprozvannykh.

NATO countries are gradually increasing pressure on the Kaliningrad region. On October 29, the Lithuanian government formalized the closure of the border with Belarus for one month. At the same time, the decision of the Lithuanian authorities did not affect passenger and cargo transit to the Kaliningrad region, but this issue remains on the agenda.

"Taking into account recent developments regarding possible restrictions by unfriendly countries on cargo transit to the Kaliningrad region, gas transportation and sea transportation, we will also consider issues of providing the region with vital goods, including energy resources," Nikolai Patrushev said during the meeting.

Against this background, the state of the Russian navy and the protection of the country's seaports are of particular importance. On October 30, Nikolai Patrushev visited the USC Yantar plant in Kaliningrad and presented its staff with the Order of Valiant Labor. More than 670 modern warships and civilian vessels of various classes and purposes were built at this enterprise.

—The Kaliningrad Shipyard continues to work on shaping the new look of the Navy, while demonstrating an innovative approach to solving complex engineering problems and boldness of design thought," said Nikolai Patrushev.

Andrey Puchkov, General Director of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, said that the company is building military vessels that are important for the country's defense capability. Currently, there are five civilian and four military orders under implementation.

In the presence of the assistant to the president, the launch of a new horizontal boring machine with numerical control took place. It will increase the automation of production. The company's management also showed the delegation vessels under construction for various purposes, from military to fishing.

The fleets of Western countries are most afraid of Russian submarines, primarily armed with cruise and hypersonic missiles, as well as naval missile-carrying aircraft, Yuri Zverev, director of the Center for Foreign Regional Studies and Regional Studies at the Immanuel Kant BFU, told Izvestia.

— We need to actively develop our own naval drones — surface, underwater and aerial for various purposes (including attack) and create and develop means of combating enemy ones. To improve the means of naval mine warfare and mine defense," the expert emphasized.

He also noted that promising developments include satellite systems for marine space exploration and target designation, as well as navigation systems. We should not forget about naval electronic warfare systems. Meanwhile, Russia continues to strengthen the Baltic Fleet: in August, the Stavropol small rocket ship joined it.

Threats to the Kaliningrad region

Alexey Besprozvanikh, Governor of the Kaliningrad Region, earlier called Vilnius' statements about a possible transit blockade a provocation and a violation of the conditions of Lithuania's accession to the EU in 2004. The head of the region drew attention to the fact that the sanctions pressure forces them to rely mainly on sea supply routes. To do this, it is necessary to develop the appropriate infrastructure: sea ferries and ports.

Nikolai Patrushev stressed that the federal center pays close attention to this issue. In particular, criminal cases have been opened due to violations of the deadlines for work on the Pionersky ferry.

At sea, the countries of the alliance are also obstructing navigation. Back in February 2025, it became known that the EU countries with access to the Baltic Sea were developing legal measures that would allow them to carry out mass detentions of ships carrying Russian goods. In April, the Estonian parliament approved amendments to the laws on the defense forces and the economic zone, granting their Armed Forces the right to sink suspicious civilian vessels. There have already been several incidents when the Estonian military tried to detain ships heading to Russian ports in international waters.

Yuri Zverev clarifies that the United Kingdom is the most active among the alliance countries in the Baltic (it heads the Joint Expeditionary Force and the multinational NATO Combat Group in Estonia). Canada is also showing particular zeal, under whose leadership the multinational NATO brigade operates in Latvia and the United States, they keep their other troops in Poland (more than 10 thousand in total) and have rotating units in Latvia and Estonia. Despite their limited capabilities, the Baltic countries are also active in this area.

The strategic task of NATO is to squeeze Russia out of the Baltic region, Natalia Eremina, a professor at St. Petersburg State University, noted in a comment to Izvestia.

"They solve this problem by committing provocations and accusing Russia of sabotage," the political scientist emphasized.

In her opinion, such attempts will become more frequent. But NATO will not be able to completely block the Baltic Sea for Russia, since this step would mean a declaration of war. Without total support from the United States, it is unlikely that any country in the alliance will assume such responsibility.

The issues of ocean exploration have not been ignored either. On the same day in Kaliningrad, Nikolai Patrushev visited the exposition and educational center "Planet Ocean" of the World Ocean Museum Reserve. It is a giant ball, the internal structure of which resembles a ship. The presidential aide discussed with the museum's management the improvement of the effectiveness of educational activities. The scientists also emphasized the importance of financing research ships.