So what is Russia playing at? Is this a dress rehearsal for an invasion, a scenario that the Kremlin feels it needs to practice again given the fallout with Nato over Ukraine? That is certainly one way of looking at it: similar manoeuvres were practised a great deal by both Russian and Nato military aircraft during the Cold War. However, when it comes to war gaming in the Baltics, Moscow sees it not so much as an invasion, as a case of taking back what rightfully belongs to Russia.