A senior Russian official has said that Moscow will counter any moves by Western military alliance NATO to dominate the Baltic Sea. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Russian television channel Rossiya-24 on Friday that the Western alliance's decision to increase patrols around the Baltic was further proof of NATO's "desire to turn the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake.

The move marks yet another step in the systematic military encircling of Russia by the US-led military alliance, which continues to back the far-right Ukrainian regime in a war aimed at inflicting a strategic defeat on Moscow and subjugating its territory to semi-colonial status.

Following a series of suspicious sabotage incidents, NATO countries have implemented patrols in the Baltic Sea to monitor the activities of Russian ships suspected of targeting undersea cables. This sea,

NATO on Tuesday launched operation Baltic Sentry to deter further attempts to damage critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the operation on Tuesday in a joint press conference with Finland President Alexander Stubb and Estonia Prime Minister Kristen Michal at the Baltic Sea NATO Allies Summit held in Helsinki,

General Martin Herem, former head of Estonia’s defence forces, has speculated that NATO could blockade the Baltic. However, given that this would amount to a declaration of war, NATO has opted for a less confrontational approach: surveillance.

Russia has condemned the Western alliance for ramping up its naval presence in the so-called 'NATO lake' after alleged sabotage by Moscow-linked vessels.