Europe’s tumultuous summer of 2022 marches on as the consequences of Russia’s war on Ukraine ripple in all directions. In a development that will only heighten tensions on the Continent, the Russian military said that it has now deployed warplanes armed with state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to Kaliningrad, the country’s westernmost Baltic region. 

Russia’s defense ministry said three MiG-31 fighters with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles arrived at the Chkalovsk air base in the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad as part of “additional measures of strategic deterrence.” The ministry said the warplanes will be put on around-the-clock alert. A video released by the defense ministry showed the fighters arriving at the base but not carrying the missiles, which were apparently delivered separately.

The deployment of Kinzhal missiles to Kaliningrad as Moscow’s campaign in Ukraine nears the sixth-month mark appeared intended to showcase the Russian military’s capability to threaten NATO assets. The region borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania.

Kaliningrad’s location has put it in the forefront of Moscow’s efforts to counter what it describes as NATO’s hostile policies. The Kremlin has methodically bolstered its military forces there, arming them with state-of-the-art weapons, including precision-guided Iskander missiles and an array of air defense systems. Moscow has strongly criticized the deliveries of Western weapons to Ukraine, accusing America and its allies of fueling the conflict.

The Russian military says the Kinzhal has a range of up to about 1,250 miles and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept. There is nothing theoretical about these weapons: Russia has already used them to strike several targets in Ukraine.

“The events in Ukraine demonstrated that a clash with the collective West is a real possibility,” Russia’s foreign ministry spokesman, Ivan Nechayev, said Thursday, while emphasizing that a “direct confrontation with the U.S. and NATO isn’t in our interests.”

Speaking at a briefing, Mr Nechayev said: “Russia as a nuclear power will continue to act with maximum responsibility” and “the Russian military doctrine envisages a nuclear response only in retaliation to an aggression involving weapons of mass destruction or in a situation when the very existence of the state comes under threat.”

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In Moscow, meanwhile, people who were disappointed when Starbucks closed its coffee shops after Russia sent troops into Ukraine may now feel a caffeine jolt of hope: A nearly identical operation is opening in the Russian capital.

The name is almost the same: Stars Coffee. The logo could be the separated-at-birth twin of the Starbucks mermaid, as it features flowing hair, a small enigmatic smile, and a star atop her head — though instead of a Starbucks crown she wears a Russian headdress called a kokoshnik.

The menu, judging by the company app introduced a day before the store’s formal opening Friday, would look familiar to any Starbucks customer.

Starbucks said Thursday it had no comment on the new stores.

Seattle-based Starbucks was one of the most visible of the wave of foreign companies that pulled out of Russia or suspended their operations in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Others include McDonald’s, IKEA, and fast-fashion giant H&M.

The departure of these companies was a psychological blow to Russians who had become used to the comforts of Western-style consumer culture. Yet Russian entrepreneurs saw opportunity in suddenly unoccupied stores.

A popular rap artist who uses the stage name Timati, Yunus Yusupov, and a restaurateur, Anton Pinsky, partnered to buy the Starbucks assets, then took the imitation strategy a step further by giving the operation an English-language name.

At a news conference Thursday, they vowed to reopen all the former Starbucks under their new identity and even expand the business. The U.S. company had built its Russian operation to about 130 stores since entering the country in 2007. The stores were owned and operated by a franchisee, Alshaya Group of Kuwait.

While the close resemblance of the new operations to their predecessors could be seen as riding someone else’s inspiration and effort, the Starbucks as well as McDonald’s successors also fit a national-pride concept. Since Russia was walloped by sanctions and foreign pullouts, officials frequently assert that Russia will overcome those by relying on its own resources and energies. 

In that effort the Russians could probably use all the coffee they can get — even if it is a pale imitation of an authentic Starbucks brew.