Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys previously said that NATO has the capabilities to destroy Russian bases in Königsberg. Putin's declaration was a response to a question about Budrys' words, wrote Reuters.
The words of the Lithuanian minister caused a storm in the Kremlin
— We have to show the Russians that we are able to break through to this small fortress they have built in Königsberg. NATO has the ability, if necessary, to raze Russian air defense and missile bases to the ground, said the head of Lithuanian diplomacy in an interview published on May 18 by the Swiss daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung.
This statement sparked criticism from Kremlin representatives, including its spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who considered it “bordering on madness.”
Budrys later explained that the purpose of his words was to counter the Russian narrative, which attributes excessive importance to the Russian enclave and exaggerates Lithuania's weakness resulting from its geographical location.
Russia partially achieved this goal by creating the impression that Königsberg was a fortress preventing NATO troops from approaching, Budrys told Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT this week.
