NATO navies are putting on a display of maritime might in the Baltic Sea this month, as thousands of personnel from 17 countries aboard 50 vessels take part in war games led by the U.S. Navy’s 6th Fleet. 

Of the nine countries that share a Baltic Sea coastline, only Russia is not a NATO member, and June’s BALTOPS exercise aims to ensure those other countries can work together to defend the area, at a time when Moscow is turning up the heat. 

«This year’s BALTOPS is more than just an exercise,» said U.S. Vice Admiral J.T. Anderson in a press release this week. «It’s a visible demonstration of our Alliance’s resolve, adaptability and maritime strength.» 

Over the last year there’s been growing disquiet about Russia’s malign influence in the Baltic Sea region, with several incidents of severed undersea cables. Suspicion has fallen on Russia’s fleet of so-called «ghost» or «shadow» ships: hundreds of aging vessels, mostly oil tankers flying under foreign flags that are used to circumvent Western sanctions or trade in military hardware. 

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There are also well-founded concerns that some of these ships are used for covert intelligence gathering, communication intercepts or to sabotage undersea infrastructure like internet cables or gas and electricity pipelines. Three crew members from a Cook Islands-registered vessel, believed to be part of Russia’s ghost fleet, are currently facing charges in Finland over damage to an undersea cable that prosecutors say happened when the ship dragged its anchor for 60 miles along the floor of the Baltic Sea.   

«There’s a growing importance of the shadow fleet to Russia’s wartime economy, and a growing awareness that NATO needs to stop it,» Tony Lawrence, a naval expert and researcher at the International Centre for Defence and Security in Estonia, told Fox News Digital. 

But after a number of NATO navies adopted a tougher stance against the ghost ships through stop-and-search tactics, the Russians announced they would use their own navy to escort the fleet through the Baltic Sea. 

«The Russian military presence in the region has always been visible, this is not a new feature. However, what is new is that Russia is protecting its shadow fleet tankers in the narrow pass of the Gulf of Finland,» Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said in a recent television interview with Finland’s YLE TV. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a naval exercise from the Marshal Ustinov missile cruiser in the Black Sea on Jan. 9, 2020. (Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

NATO governments are keeping a close eye on the latest Baltic Sea developments and preparing for any possible increase in tensions. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen spoke at a meeting of NATO’s Nordic and Baltic members this week, and described the Russian threat as real and serious. «We see a more aggressive Russian approach in the Baltic Sea region,» she told reporters. 

The Baltic Sea has relatively narrow waterways, where international maritime boundaries extend 12 miles from the coast, and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) incorporate valuable fishing grounds or offshore wind farms. Add to this some of the busiest ferry routes in the world, commercial shipping traffic, military warships and civilian craft, and it raises the possibility that a more robust Russian naval posture in the area could increase the possibility of conflict. 

«This is the risk of having more warships floating around the Baltic Sea, there is a potential for miscalculations that could escalate, and risk-reduction mechanisms that used to exist don’t work any more because the [NATO and Russian] navies aren’t talking to each other anymore,» Lawrence told Fox News Digital. 

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The oil tanker Eagle S is seen anchored near the Kilpilahti port in Porvoo, on the Gulf of Finland on Jan. 13, 2025. (Vesa Moilanen/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)

Does the Russian navy even have the capacity to escort every single ghost fleet ship in the Baltic? That seems unlikely, according to some. 

«It’s an escalation, of course, of Russian misbehavior in the Baltic Sea. But in practical terms I’m not sure it’s going to make that much difference,» Lawrence said. 

«Russia’s Baltic Sea fleet has always been the junior cousin of the Russian navy, and it’s never been particularly well-equipped or enlarged, but it’s still the biggest national navy operating in the Baltic, and they have ships that are attuned to the Baltic Sea, which is shallow, and its salinity is such that you need special kinds of sensors. And they know how to hide ships in the archipelagos of Sweden or Finland, so in that regard, they have a certain amount of specialist capability,» Lawrence explained.

The Baltic Sea war games this month – with the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Paul Ignatius and the Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney taking part – serve to remind the Russians of the power of NATO’s combined naval assets in the region. 

The guided missile destroyer USS Paul Ignatius participates in a steam formation with NATO ships during exercise Baltic Operations, June 5, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. John Allen)

And some of the smaller navies will be reassured by the presence of the American warships. 

A few weeks ago, Estonia’s navy brought one suspected shadow fleet ship into its territorial waters for an inspection, and it complied. But when the Estonians tried the same tactic for a second time, the ship refused to stop and wouldn’t come into port. 

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«That makes things more difficult for other nations because the shadow fleet is learning that it can just ignore what NATO navies do and there’s little that NATO can do in that situation, especially if there are Russian ships escorting the shadow fleet,» said Lawrence. 

«But I don’t think NATO nations are going to back down. They will still follow and challenge these shadow fleet ships, or even look at other legislation, like requiring proof of insurance, to stop them from transiting the Baltic Sea.»

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office downplayed the riots gripping Los Angeles, likening them to sports celebrations that notoriously break out in Philadelphia after an Eagles’ victory. 

«LA riots? Have these geniuses ever seen what happens when the Eagles win a playoff game?» Izzy Gardon, Newsom’s communications director, told Fox News Digital on Sunday morning. 

Philadelphia notoriously sees sports revelers flood the city after beloved teams such as the Eagles or Phillies win championships, sometimes setting cars ablaze and causing property damage. The city even greases city light poles to dissuade partiers from scaling them and deploys additional police to the streets while often wearing riot gear.

Fox News Digital reached out to the governor’s office to ask about claims by California Republicans and natives that Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass bore some of the blame for the riots. They and other local Democrats issued messages defending illegal immigrants and condemning federal agents for carrying out deportation raids in the left-wing city. 

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SLAM NEWSOM, BASS FOR LETTING LA BURN WITH RIOTS AMID TRUMP IMMIGRATION BLITZ

«Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass have a real habit of letting Los Angeles burn,» Republican California Rep. Darell Issa posted to X on Saturday evening. 

«If only Karen Bass fought against the Los Angeles fires like she fights for illegal aliens,» Issa added in another post, referring to the Palisades fire that tore through Southern California in January. 

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«Gavin Newsom is unqualified for a plethora of reasons, the least of which is his support of illegal alien insurrectionists. He is an all purpose, all around loser,» Hollywood actor and California resident James Woods posted to X.

Eagles fans celebrating after the Super Bowl in February. (Getty Images)

Federal officials have also pinned blame for the violence on Democratic elected officials who have «villainized and demonized» ICE law enforcement, Fox Digital previously reported. 

«This is on you, Governor. It is a shame that California openly defies federal law and sides with illegal aliens, including hardened criminals, against its own citizens,» Harmeet Dhillon, former vice chair of the California Republican Party and current assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, posted to X. 

«The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end,» DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement. «The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens.… From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end.» 

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Newsom on Friday described the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Los Angeles as «chaotic and reckless.»

«Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel. Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy,» Newsom’s statement read. 

The press office doubled down in support of shielding illegal immigrants from deportation in a response X post to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday. 

«In recent days, violent mobs have attacked ICE Officers and Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California. These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens,» Leavitt posted to X. 

Newsom’s office responded: «These are anything but basic. Your indiscriminate sweeps are terrifying entire communities and detaining hardworking, tax-paying Californians. It’s cruel escalation and must end.»

Gov. Gavin Newsom (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

When asked about the riots, and California Republicans condemning the violence and Newsom’s stance on immigration on Sunday morning, the governor’s office compared the lawlessness to street parties after an Eagles win. 

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The riots in Los Angeles, however, have included targeted attacks on federal law enforcement officials, including violent protesters lobbing rocks and other items at immigration officials. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael W. Banks, for example, shared a photo of a Border Patrol agent’s bloody hand that was injured by a rock flying through the windshield.

Police kick tear gas back to the crowd as people block off the street and set a fire during protests on Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Paramount, California. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Saturday to deploy 2,000 National Guardsmen to Paramount, California, to help quell the violence, and has also slammed the local leaders for the chaos. 

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«If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!» Trump posted to Truth Social on Saturday evening. 

En una medida que no ocurría en 60 años, el presidente Donald Trump ordenó desplegar 2.000 miembros de la Guardia Nacional en Los Ángeles para dispersar las protestas que comenzaron en respuesta a las redadas de inmigración, una iniciativa que está en contra de la voluntad del gobernador demócrata al que la Casa Blanca calificó de “irresponsable”.

Es otra muestra de la intención de Trump de escalar la “mano dura” contra los inmigrantes y contra quienes manifiesten contra su política de deportaciones. Además, envía el mensaje a otros estados liberales que son considerados por el presidente como “santuarios” para indocumentados: no le tiembla el pulso para desplegar las fuerzas federales por este tema aún si no lo convocan.

La orden de Trump es la primera vez que un presidente activa la fuerza de la Guardia Nacional de un estado sin una solicitud del gobernador de ese territorio desde 1965, cuando el entonces presidente Lyndon B. Johnson envió tropas a Alabama para proteger a los manifestantes por los derechos civiles.

Las autoridades de inmigración y los manifestantes se han enfrentado durante dos días en el área de Los Angeles y los disturbios comenzaron el viernes después de que decenas de personas fueron detenidas por agentes federales de inmigración en diferentes lugares. Los arrestos se producen en medio de la ofensiva de Trump contra la inmigración, que ha implicado oleadas de redadas y deportaciones en todo el país.

Las fuerzas del orden con equipo antidisturbios desplegaron gases lacrimógenos y granadas aturdidoras para dispersar a los manifestantes en el centro de Los Angeles y la ciudad de Paramount durante los dos días, y las autoridades informaron múltiples arrestos el sábado.

Al anunciar el envío de los efectivos de la Guardia Nacional, la secretaria de prensa la Casa Blanca, Karoline Leavitt dijo en un comunicado: «Estas operaciones son esenciales para detener y revertir la invasión de criminales ilegales a los Estados Unidos. A raíz de esta violencia, los irresponsables líderes demócratas de California han abdicado por completo de su responsabilidad de proteger a sus ciudadanos”.

El gobernador de California, el demócrata Gavin Newsom, calificó el despliegue de tropas como «intencionalmente incendiario» y advirtió que solo aumentaría las tensiones.

«Esta es la misión equivocada y erosionará la confianza pública», dijo Newsom.

Funcionarios de la administración Trump describieron a los manifestantes como «alborotadores sin ley». El Departamento de Policía de Los Angeles, por su parte, dijo que las manifestaciones del sábado dentro de la ciudad «se mantuvieron pacíficas» y que «los eventos concluyeron sin incidentes».

En otras partes del condado de Los Angeles, una multitud de manifestantes en Paramount se volvió «cada vez más agitada, arrojando objetos y exhibiendo un comportamiento violento hacia los agentes federales y los alguaciles adjuntos», dijo el Departamento del Sheriff de Los Ángeles el sábado por la noche. En respuesta, el departamento solicitó recursos adicionales en todo el condado.

En las cercanías de Compton, un vehículo fue incendiado donde los manifestantes comenzaron a reunirse. El viernes, un video mostró varios proyectiles lanzados contra agentes equipados con chalecos antibalas y escudos protectores fuera de un centro de detención federal de Los Ángeles.

Leavitt argumentó que Trump llamó a los guardias para «abordar la anarquía que se ha permitido que se encone» y que «turbas violentas atacaron a oficiales de ICE y agentes federales de aplicación de la ley».

Trump invocó su autoridad bajo el Título 10, que permite al presidente llamar a la Guardia Nacional según sea necesario para repeler una invasión, reprimir una rebelión o ejecutar leyes. El secretario de Defensa de Estados Unidos, Pete Hegseth, dijo que los infantes de marina en servicio activo en Camp Pendleton también serán movilizados si los disturbios continúan.

La medida de la Casa Blanca enfrenta críticas de algunos miembros de las fuerzas del orden. Muchos ven el despliegue de la Guardia Nacional como una reacción exagerada que puede ser contraproducente y solo provocar agitadores adicionales, dijo una fuente policial de alto rango involucrada en la respuesta a las protestas de Los Ángeles.

La Unión Estadounidense por las Libertades Civiles (ACLU, por sus siglas en inglés) opinó sobre la decisión de Trump de federalizar las tropas de la Guardia Nacional, calificándola de abuso de poder incendiario. «Al tomar esta acción, la administración Trump está poniendo en peligro a los angelinos, creando un peligro legal y ético para las tropas y socavando imprudentemente nuestro principio democrático fundamental de que los militares no deben vigilar a los civiles», dijo Hina Shamsi, directora del Proyecto de Seguridad Nacional de la ACLU.