Russia’s latest nuclear threat rings hollow in Baltic states

RZESZOW, Poland — Russia threatened to deploy nuclear weapons near the Baltic Sea if Finland and Sweden apply to join NATO, but eastern flank allies regard the threat as a laughable effort to intimidate the Nordic states.

“It’s just rhetoric, because they have nukes in Kaliningrad already,” a senior European official said. “It’s just meant for the public, actually, to frighten the public and parliamentarians in Sweden and Finland as well. But they shouldn’t be stupid.”