Patrushev said NATO is trying to paralyze the work of Russian ports in the Baltic Sea

NATO is trying to block Russia in the Baltic Sea and paralyze the work of ports in the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions. This was stated on February 6 by Nikolai Patrushev, aide to the Russian president and chairman of the Russian Maritime Board, during a meeting in Nizhny Novgorod on ensuring the safety of maritime and river navigation.

"It should be noted that the actions of the North Atlantic Alliance coordinated by the Anglo-Saxons in the Baltic, in the Gulf of Finland represent attempts to blockade Russia, including with the aim of paralyzing the work of our ports in the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions," he said.

According to Patrushev, such a policy has a negative impact on the reliability and safety of cargo and passenger transportation, in addition, it destroys the global system of maritime commercial shipping.

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On January 23, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that NATO's steps in an attempt to create artificial barriers to shipping in the Baltic Sea are aimed not at improving security, but at deterring Russia. The diplomat specified that the protection of underwater infrastructure is not included in this list.

Before that, on January 20, military expert Alexei Leonkov told Izvestia that NATO countries' attempts to block the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea would be a pretext for war, for which the North Atlantic Alliance, unlike Russia, is not ready. According to him, the acquisition of weapons, sending ships to the water area for patrolling in a different environment could sound like a regular use of the bloc's fleet. However, now, he noted, the situation there is different.

On January 7, it became known that NATO is going to send a fleet to the Baltic Sea to protect important underwater structures. According to its data, it will consist of about 10 ships, and the operation itself will last until April. At the same time, it was specified that the forces of the Finnish and Estonian fleets would still be involved in the protection of the Gulf of Finland. Later, on January 18, the media reported that NATO warships started patrolling the Baltic Sea as part of the Baltic Sentry operation.