Kremlin officials continue to apply to the Baltic states the same narratives that Russia has used to justify its invasions over the past three decades, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote.
Analysts drew attention to a statement by Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, who said on 14 October that Latvian authorities were “persecuting” Russian-speaking people in Latvia and that Russia should protect its “compatriots” in the Baltic states. And Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) and Duma deputy, said Russians in Latvia were part of the “Russian world”.
“Russia has long claimed that it has an obligation to protect its” compatriots abroad” and has used this narrative to justify its invasions of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. “The Kremlin’s ‘Russian’ narratives about Russian” compatriots “in the Baltic States and the broader ‘Russian world’ are part of a multi-year effort by the Kremlin to create conditions to justify possible Russian aggression against NATO in the future,” the report says.
In addition, ISW noted that the Kremlin continues to demonstrate its unwillingness to compromise or engage in good-faith peace talks to end the war against Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 14 October that Russia was ready for a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine but was continuing the war due to “lack of alternatives,” adding that Russia would secure its interests “one way or another” and achieve its military objectives.
“The Kremlin has repeatedly defined its military goals as the demilitarisation of Ukraine, a change of power in favour of a pro-Russian puppet government and commitments that would bar Ukraine from joining NATO and other international alliances. Peskov’s statements are consistent with shambolic Kremlin rhetoric throughout the war and negotiation process that Russia will achieve these military objectives militarily or diplomatically,” the report said.
US President Donald Trump said the day before that he was disappointed with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin, according to Trump, should have won the war against Ukraine in a week, but it has been going on for nearly four years. “I don’t understand why he continues this war. This war is such a bad war for him,” Trump said while answering questions from reporters at the White House. Trump also said that the Russian economy is approaching collapse.
The US president also suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would ask for Tomahawk missiles during their meeting on 17 October. “He needs weapons, he would like to have Tomahawk. We have a lot of Tomahawk,” he said. At the same time, he did not say whether a decision had been made to supply these missiles to Ukraine.
On 7 October, Trump confirmed that he did not rule out supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles if Russia did not stop the war against Ukraine. At the same time, he noted that he initially intended to discuss this issue with Russia.
On 2 October, Russian leader Putin warned that the delivery of Tomahawks would constitute “an entirely new stage of escalation” between Washington and Moscow. However, he maintained that they did not pose a serious threat to the country.