Armenia, Not Kaliningrad: Russia's True Imperative
Putin publicly stated his dis-interest in war with Europe and quite explicitly said that Russia has neither interest nor intention in attacking Europe.
HOWEVER...
... that does not preclude Russia from "pricing-in" expectations of war should the actual upcoming escalation face NATO response:
Expanding the Iranian War: Conflict in the Caucases
Armenia provides a crucial outlet to Iran, but it gets more complicated: the TRIPP - "Trump Route for International Peace & Prosperity", which one could more bluntly call, "The American-controlled private border fence between Armenia and Iran".
Meanwhile, trade only grows, hugely, between Armenia and Iran, as the Americans cut remaining links to Eurasia:
Should Armenia begin to fall sway to American influence to likewise cut links with Iran, it would only imperil Iran, as she becomes more dependent on supply-chains through contested and dangerous regions such as Balochistan, Pakistan:
Kaliningrad & Baltic Threats: Poison Intervention
By menacing nuclear war over the Baltics, Russia sets a clear boundary between European territory and Russian territory: if Russia condones nuclear war to preserve its decaying Kaliningrad, then clearly no blood or treasure would be spared to keep the critical Caucasian trade routes open to Iran.
However, if the reader proves a skeptic, then whom better to ask than a regional expert, the former President of Georgia, himself:
