Small 'NATO Lake' Exclave Could Be Russia's Next Target: Ex-General

A former U.S. general has warned against complacency that Sweden's membership of NATO had stifled the threat posed by Russia to the West.

On Monday, Hungary's parliament ratified Sweden's accession to NATO, and now only formalities remain before Stockholm can become the alliance's 32nd member. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán needs to sign the ratification which would be deposited with the U.S. government.

Social media users noted that following Finland joining the alliance last April in response to the threat posed by Moscow, NATO members now encircled the Baltic Sea, including Denmark, Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Germany.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine made the Baltic Sea a NATO lake," Samuel Ramani, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, posted on X, next to an image which suggested a newly formed strong buffer against Russia.

"NATO lake is finally a thing! Welcome, Sweden," posted pro-Ukrainian X user Saint Javelin, sharing the same image. "Closing the Gulf Finland to Russian ships should have been done long ago. Now that we have our "NATO Lake", it's time," posted Jay in Kyiv.

"European security just took a major positive leap. Its effects are most immediate around the Baltic Sea - from now on, a NATO lake," wrote Estonian secretary general of foreign affairs, Jonatan Vseviov.

However, Mark Hertling, former commanding general of the United States Army Europe responded to the memes shared on social media, saying that Moscow still has a strong presence in the region.

"Many are posting a map showing a "NATO Lake" as the Baltic Sea," he wrote on X, "but there's danger here."

"Most haven't heard of Kaliningrad or the Suwalkie "Gap." Those of us who have served in Europe believe if Ukraine falls, this will be the next Russia expansion."

Kaliningrad is in the heart of the region now surrounded by NATO members and is a Russian exclave between Lithuania and Poland which hosts a concentration of Russian military assets, including naval bases, airfields, and missile systems.

The Suwałki Gap borders Kaliningrad on one side, linking Moscow's closest ally Belarus with the Russian exclave, posing a problem for NATO planners and military strategists concerned it could be the next focus for Russia. If Russian or Belarusian forces close the gap, it would cut off NATO's ability to send reinforcements to the Baltic states by land.

Meanwhile, Sweden's membership of NATO has been widely welcomed as a boon for the alliance and a blow to Russia.

In a statement to Newsweek, Dan Fried, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Europe and fellow at the Atlantic Council said that Stockholm joining NATO was a "strategic setback" for Russia which "has blamed NATO enlargement for a host of ills, and many of Putin's Western apologists blame the threat of NATO enlargement to Ukraine for setting off Russia's invasion."

Newsweek has contacted NATO for comment.

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