Weapons transfer makes good on threat over NATO growth

Russia is moving tactical nuclear weapons into one of its military bases in the Baltics for the first time since the end of the Cold War, The Washington Times reported on Wednesday. THE PAPER reported that the transfer of battlefield nuclear weapons to the base in Kaliningrade followed threats several years ago to position such weapons in response to expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Kaliningrade is a Baltic Sea port located between Poland and Lithuania on a sliver of Russian territory not connected to the main part of Russia. The port is the headquarters of the Russian Baltic Fleet. The paper said movement of the battlefield nuclear weapons, believed to be for use on a new missile with a range of about 44 miles, was detected last June, but withheld from most U.S. policy-makers until recently.