Nikolai Patrushev, a Russian politician and member of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, disclosed to Kommersant Russia's plan to increase its role in the Baltic Sea. He called the "NATO Lake" the country's most important military and security task.

NATO is steadily increasing its control over the Baltic Sea, which is now often referred to as the NATO Lake. This sea located in northern Europe is crucial for trade, military strategy and energy infrastructure, as it has lower salinity due to freshwater inflow from rivers.

It borders Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden.

The only non-NATO state that now has access to the Baltic Sea is Russia, after Finland and Sweden joined the alliance in 2023.

Patrushev was the secretary of the Russian Security Council between 2008 and 2024. He played a key role in the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Speaking to Russian newspaper Kommersant on Monday, Patrushev said: "The Americans and their European allies have set a course for the militarization of the Baltic Sea."

This is a "traditional strategy" of the West, but let me remind them that "our Baltic sailors always destroyed the plans of the aggressors", said Patrushev.

Controlling the security of the Baltic is the most important military-political task. After Sweden and Finland joined NATO, and also in the background of the undermining of Nord Stream, Russia is taking additional measures to protect its territorial integrity and economic sovereignty. We must increase our own capacities, and at the same time strengthen cooperation with friendly countries", announced Patrushev.

 

He believes that the geography of the BRICS countries means that they must work together in the world's oceans to maintain the stability and security of maritime communications, concentrating efforts on shipbuilding, developing port infrastructure, training personnel and introducing new technologies.

After the all-out Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Finland and Sweden joined NATO. This resulted in the fact that the Baltic Sea is now surrounded by NATO members.

The headquarters of the Russian Baltic fleet is located in the Kaliningrad exclave.

Located between NATO member Poland and Lithuania, it will be the front line in any conflict between Moscow and the Alliance. Patrushev also accused the US and UK of intending to sabotage undersea internet cables and plans to destabilize the maritime energy trade.

He also told Kommersant that the US and Great Britain were behind the mysterious September 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines – and that they were planning attacks on other Russian pipelines as well.

Patrushev warned that the "American and British special services" have the necessary equipment and personnel to carry out such an operation, as a means of "advancing their economic interests".