The US flexes its muscles to Vladimir Putin: in the Baltic there is also the Uss Kearsarge, the gigantic amphibious assault ship anchored in the port of Stockholm that will take part in NATO exercises with 16 countries. The vessel houses 26 warplanes and 2,400 between marines and sailors. It is one of the means deployed by the US after the promise to guarantee the security of the two Nordic countries in the interim period between their request to join NATO and their acceptance, which is still under the Turkish veto. But, the NYT writes, it is also a warning to Sweden and Finland about their potential obligations in the event of a conflict, as US joint chief of staff Mark Milley has made clear. “Russia has its own Baltic fleet,” he said, underlining, however, that NATO will also have its presence in the Baltic once Sweden and Finland join the Alliance. In practice, the Baltic will become a ‘Nato lake’, apart from St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad.
