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Standing in the centre of rainy Kaliningrad, the isolated Russian exclave surrounded by Nato countries, Russian factory worker Alexander felt confident.Economically hit by being cut-off from its EU neighbours and physically isolated from the rest of Russia, officials and locals are putting on a brave face amid claims they are under siege from neighbours Poland and Lithuania.The Baltic states surrounding Kaliningrad, all Nato members, have been some of Ukraine's staunchest backers since Moscow launched its offensive in February 2022.Poland and Lithuania "want to show off, display their strength, reinforce their borders", said Alexander, 25, who did not give his surname.But his city is "certainly not one that surrenders", he added, taking pride that Russia had far more weapons than its smaller neighbours.His defiance echoes the Kremlin's relentless criticism of Nato.Russian leader Vladimir Putin has for years accused the military alliance of breaking an apparent promise not to expand eastwards.In June, he said Russians had been "tricked, duped on the subject of Nato's non-expansion".Ukraine and the West reject that narrative as a pretext advanced by Putin to justify the offensive, which has become Europe's largest conflict since World War II.In Russia's neighbours, the intensity of the confrontation is palpable.Poland and Lithuania, which have a land border with Kaliningrad, have virtually closed their borders for Russians, bar limited exceptions.In recent weeks, Estonia and Lithuania have reported Russian jets violating their airspace.And Poland's new president Karol Nawrocki said he believed Russia was "ready to hit at other countries" after Nato scrambled jets to shoot down Russian drones flying through Polish airspace.Kaliningrad — a previously German city called Konigsberg until it became Soviet after WWII — is strategic for Moscow.It is home to Russia's Baltic Fleet, as well as Iskander ballistic missiles, the same kind that Moscow regularly fires on Ukraine.The region's governor did not respond to an AFP request for an interview.The Kremlin's hardline messages run deep with many.Marina, a 63 year-old who works in a clothes shop, mocked the region's EU neighbours, saying they should focus on their own problems."Let them bark," she said. "I am 100 percent protected in Kaliningrad. I am not scared of Nato."Showing Russian tourists round the tomb of philosopher Immanuel Kant, guide Anna Dmitrik was relieved that Kaliningrad had not been targeted by the Ukrainian retaliatory drone attacks that have hit many other regions."It's calm here. We are not scared for now," she said, adding: "I don't know what will happen next."Still, reminders of the war are everywhere.Banners encouraged men to sign up to fight in Ukraine for Russia's "victorious army". Giant Zs — the symbol of Moscow's forces in Ukraine — decorated buildings.But behind the defiance, Kaliningrad's locals struggled with the feeling of being more isolated, and worse off, than before February 2022.Banned from EU airspace, planes connecting the exclave to the rest of Russia must take a long detour northwards via the Gulf of Finland.A train linking it to Moscow is physically sealed as it crosses Lithuania, with Russian passengers requiring a visa or transit permit to board.And Vilnius has closed its border with key Russian ally Belarus for at least a month over the intrusion of balloons carrying thousands of illegal cigarettes into the EU state.Before "you could go to Poland to shop or just take a walk. Buses and trucks were running", said mechanic Vitaly Tsypliankov, 48."Life was better then," he added."Now everything is closed. Everything is more expensive, absolutely everything has become costlier."Inflation has surged across Russia amid the Ukraine offensive, but complicated logistics hit Kaliningrad especially hard.While Poland's border is technically open, only Russians with EU residency can enter. Traffic into the country has virtually stopped.Most petrol stations near the border are empty if not shut down.The giant Baltia shopping mall, on the road to the airport, is sparsely frequented."Kaliningrad's economic situation is very bad," said Irina, a saleswoman there."Logistics are very complicated to bring in products from (the rest of) Russia," she said, puffing on a cigarette."Everything is more expensive."

Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation Sergei Naryshkin said that European member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are preparing for war with Russia. Naryshkin added during a meeting of the Council of Heads of Security Agencies and Special Services of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Samarkand, "we see how the European NATO allies are preparing for war with our country. The task has been set to quickly provide all the necessary resources to the Allied Rapid Reaction Forces designated for this purpose," according to both RIA Novosti and Sputnik News. "The process of significantly increasing the production of the European military-industrial complex has begun. Mobilization exercises and propaganda indoctrination about the inevitable aggression from Moscow have become a regular practice," he said. Naryshkin stressed that restraint, the ability to compromise, and responsibility are now required to avoid a new global armed conflict, noting that Russia has observed in recent years unprecedented NATO activity along its western borders, emphasizing that the West must abandon its policy of militarizing the continent. He also accused Kyiv of ignoring the commitment made by the administration of US President Donald Trump to engage in constructive discussions to resolve the crisis.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called for a firm and prudent response to Russia's repeated violations of NATO airspace over Poland and Estonia. In a statement before leaving Berlin for Poland, Wadephul affirmed Germany's support for Poland, saying that they stand united, maintain calm, and will not allow themselves to be drawn into escalation, leaving no room for doubt about their determination and readiness to jointly confront any threat. He stressed that Moscow's repeated breaches were not accidental mistakes, but rather deliberate attacks, describing them as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's hybrid aggression. Such provocations are extremely dangerous, and their sole purpose is to test determination, Wadephul added. Warsaw announced that numerous Russian drones had violated Polish airspace, meaning NATO airspace, during a Russian air attack on Ukraine about two weeks ago, adding that the Polish air force and other NATO allies shot down some of these drones for the first time.

Ukraine said Sunday that Russia pounded the country with "hundreds" of drones and missiles overnight, wounding at least 10 people, as neighbouring Poland scrambled jets to secure its airspace. The attacks came after Russia warned NATO against taking sterner action in response to alleged incursions into airspace covered by the military alliance.They also followed the revelation by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Kyiv had received a US-made Patriot air defence system from Israel for use against Russian assaults. "Russia launched another massive air attack on Ukrainian cities while people were sleeping," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on X."Again, hundreds of drones and missiles, destroying residential buildings and causing civilian casualties," he said. He posted footage of flames bursting from the windows of a multi-storey apartment block, which Sybiga said was as a result of the attack.Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that the Ukrainian capital was under a "massive" assault and urged people to stay in shelters. He said at least six people had been wounded "as a result of the enemy's attack", five of whom were treated in hospital and one at the scene.The governor of the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region said Russian strikes there had wounded at least four people.Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, accused Moscow of waging a "war against civilians". "There will be a response to these actions. But the West's economic blows against Russia must also be stronger," Yermak said.Poland's armed forces said on X that they had scrambled fighter jets in its airspace and put ground-based air defence systems on high alert in response to the Russian strikes in Ukraine.The moves were preventive and aimed at securing Polish airspace and protecting citizens, especially in areas close to Ukraine, the forces said. 'They will regret it'In recent weeks, several European countries have accused Russia of violating their airspace with drones and fighter jets, in what NATO has viewed as a test of its resolve.Russia has denied that it is responsible for the incursions or that it plans to attack any NATO nation.Speaking during an address at the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday, Moscow's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said "any aggression against my country will be met with a decisive response".Speaking later to reporters, Lavrov said that if any country downs objects still within Russian airspace, "they will very much regret it".After returning from his own trip to New York, where he also addressed the UN, Zelensky told reporters that "the Israeli (Patriot) system is operating in Ukraine", adding that Kyiv would receive two more this autumn.While initially neutral in the conflict, Israel's ties with Moscow have cooled as Russia has drifted closer to Iran and condemned Israel's war in Gaza.Kyiv and Moscow also said on Saturday that the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant -- Europe's largest -- had been off the grid for four days, stoking fears of a potential nuclear incident.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki called on NATO to strengthen deterrence following an incursion of Russian drones into Poland's airspace. In an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper, Nawrocki said: "We must do everything to be ready for war, because only that ensures peace." He added he expected "such attacks on NATO territory" would not happen again and that the alliance would be even better prepared.Only three or four drones were shot down, but the president expressed satisfaction that no Polish soldiers or civilians were killed.Nawrocki said he was confident the attack was "directly controlled from Moscow" and a demonstration of Russian President Vladimir Putin's capabilities.