Kaliningrad

Kaliningrad is Russia's Baltic Sea exclave, wedged between Poland and Lithuania and separated from the Russian mainland. It hosts the headquarters of Russia's Baltic Fleet and is a heavily militarised outpost of Russian territory inside the European Union's borders.

In the Iran conflict, Kaliningrad surfaced as the location where IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, speaking after meeting Rosatom officials, declined to confirm Iran's claim that a US strike had hit the Bushehr nuclear plant's perimeter.

That Grossi's non-confirmation came from inside Russia's nuclear orbit, rather than a Western capital, gave it added weight: Iran's own nuclear partner would not corroborate the claim. Satellite imagery later confirmed a strike had reached Bushehr's perimeter.