The US is flexing its muscles for Vladimir Putin: the Baltic Sea also has the Uss Kearsarge, the gigantic amphibious assault ship that is anchored in the port of Stockholm and will take part in NATO exercises with 16 countries. The ship houses 26 fighter aircraft and 2,400 between Marines and Sailors. It is one of the tools used by the US after promising to ensure the security of the two Nordic countries in the interim between their application to join NATO and their acceptance, still under Turkey’s veto. But, writes the NYT, it is also a warning to Sweden and Finland of their potential obligations in the event of a conflict, as joint US Chief of Staff Mark Milley has made clear. “Russia has its own Baltic fleet,” he said, noting that NATO will also have a presence in the Baltic once Sweden and Finland join the alliance. In practice, apart from St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, the Baltic Sea becomes a “Nato Sea”.
