Putin is a bigger problem than the EU elections in Europe’s frontline states – POLITICO

That broader region has a name to evoke: the Suwałki Gap, long seen as one of the most dangerous potential flashpoints of a war between Russia and the West. Since the annexation of Crimea by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014, some analysts have suggested that this part of Poland would be the next target. Dotted with sparsely populated villages, rolling green farmlands and yellow rapeseed, it is an important strategic bridge to Kaliningrad.

“All this talk about the Suwałki Gorge is scaring away potential tourists,” Atkielski said. Three years ago, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he started building several hotels and has since had to abandon the project after noticing a sharp drop in the number of tourists.

Memories of the Second World War, when the Polish army surrendered the region without a fight to the advancing Soviet troops, remain vivid.

Under communist rule, northeastern Poland had almost as many military bases as cities. Its closure began in the early 2000s but has been revived since Russia’s continued military activity over the past decade. Suwałki’s own base has expanded and NATO forces regularly conduct exercises in the area, to the point where locals such as Karol Szulc are beginning to notice the effects.

The idea of ​​tanks, even Allied tanks, driving through the peaceful countryside has kept visitors at bay, says Szulc, a local guide and amateur historian.

Not a single tank, Russian or otherwise, was visible that day, despite signs on the roads crossing the hilly landscape warning cars to give way to armed convoys.