NATO countries are plotting an illegal maritime blockade of Russia, especially in the Baltic and the Arctic regions, Moscow’s Ambassador to Norway Nikolay Korchunov has said.
Korchunov, in an interview with RIA Novosti published on Feb. 14, accused NATO, which includes Norway, of “putting the Baltic-Arctic region on a barrack-like footing” by holding a series of exercises, including NATO’s Eastern Sentry launched on Sept. 12, 2025; Baltic Sentry launched on Jan. 14, 2026; and Arctic Sentry launched on Feb. 11, 2026. This would imply that they are occurring as if from a barrack, and thus regularly. This, he added, is aimed at “restricting freedom of navigation [by Russia] and violates international law norms.”
Korchunov stated that NATO is also developing plans for “a partial or complete naval blockade” of Russia, which would include its vital St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad ports. In addition, NATO members Norway, Sweden, and Finland “are working together to increase military mobility through the development of transport and logistics corridors from west to east, as well as through cross-border use of bases and other military infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, Korchunov made his statement after Bloomberg, in a Feb. 13 article, “U.K. and European Allies Weigh Seizing Russian Shadow Fleet Ships,” reported: “British Defense Secretary John Healey met with counterparts from Baltic and Nordic nations to discuss seizing oil tankers linked to Russia’s shadow fleet, as Europe seeks to tighten curbs on Moscow’s war economy nearly four years after its invasion of Ukraine.”
