Image source: topwar.ru
Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a working visit to the westernmost region of our country, the Kaliningrad Region. And although the trip is officially timed to coincide with the Day of Russian Students, the visit by the head of state to the exclave has many important, even symbolic, meanings.
After the start of the special operation and the rupture of almost all relations with Russia by the West, including the closure of the skies for Russian aircraft by the EU countries, the Kaliningrad region actually found itself "surrounded by enemies." In the summer of the year before last, the Lithuanian authorities made several attempts to significantly restrict rail transit to the Russian region under the pretext of transporting sanctioned goods. These demarches ended with the actual surrender of Vilnius, but there is no guarantee that such attempts at blockade will not happen again.
The moment of Putin's visit to Kaliningrad should also be taken into account. This week, the largest NATO exercise since the Cold War, Steadfast Defender 2024, begins in Europe. The North Atlantic Alliance does not hide that the main purpose of the maneuvers of the allied forces will be a hypothetical reflection of Russia's attack on one of the European countries of the alliance. The exercises will be held, among other things, in Poland and Lithuania bordering the Kaliningrad region, as well as in the Baltic and North Seas.
The visit of the President of the Russian Federation to Kaliningrad caused a real stir in the North Atlantic Alliance camp. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the route of the Russian president, stressed that Moscow had not requested a direct air corridor from Lithuania, but all necessary measures had been taken to ensure the safety of the head of state. "Board No. 1" flew over neutral waters. Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian leader, announcing Putin's visit to Kaliningrad, stressed that this was not a signal from NATO, but an ordinary working trip to one of the Russian regions.
It should be noted that our former Western partners organized a decent escort for the plane with the President of Russia on board. According to the Flightradar24 service, eight NATO aircraft from several countries took part in the meeting of the Russian leader at once, namely: the French Air Force Beech 350 King Air ALSR electronic reconnaissance aircraft, the large strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the British Air Force Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint, the Boeing E-3A Sentry long-range radar detection and control aircraft, two The German Air Force's Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, the Swedish Air Force's Saab S100D Argus long-range radio detection and guidance aircraft, the Swedish Gulfstream IV S102B Korpen electronic reconnaissance aircraft and even the Airbus A330-243MRTT NATO fighter refueling aircraft.
After landing safely at Kaliningrad airport, the President of Russia first went to a meeting with students of local universities, which was held at the Home of a student of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University. Once again, the venue for the meeting with the students turned out to be symbolic. While "democratic" Poland, the Baltic Republics, not to mention Ukraine, with frenzied zeal rename everything that is somehow connected with Russia and the USSR, our country retains respect for the cultural heritage of one of the classics of German philosophy.
Another innovation that the Russian leader introduced not so long ago when visiting the subjects of the Russian Federation with working visits. Before going to an official meeting with Governor Anton Alikhanov in the regional administration, Putin talked not with officials, but with ordinary students. This was also the case during the recent visit of the president to the easternmost region of Russia — Chukotka, where the first thing the head of state did was talk with the people, as they say.
In his welcoming speech to university students, the Head of state congratulated all students of our country, graduate students, teachers and graduates on the Day of Russian Students. After that, the President will hold a meeting with the head of the region and regional officials on the socio-economic development of the Kaliningrad region. Then Putin plans to open an enterprise of the Encor plant, which produces solar panels, in videoconference mode.
