Executive Summary
Russia’s strategic objectives in the Baltic region
do not focus on the Baltic States as final targets,
but on using the Batlic States to discredit
and dismantle the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) and undermining the
European Union (EU) by using the Baltic States.
Experts in Russia and European security from
the United States and the Baltic region agree that
Russia could use the Baltic States toward this end
by employing any one of a spectrum of actions, to
include direct invasion with conventional forces,
an incursion and occupation using irregular forces
like the one witnessed in Crimea in 2014, or long-
term fostering of social, political, and economic
instability. Disagreement existed among experts
as to which approach was more likely.