Russia is destabilizing the situation in a number of post-Soviet countries, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during her speech addressing German soldiers deployed in Lithuania, IPN reports, with reference to dw.com.

“We see that almost all former Soviet republics, which are not members of the EU and NATO, have to deal with the internal conflicts whipped up by Russia,” said German Chancellor.

Merkel said these countries were trying to restore their territorial integrity, since Russia has seized a part of their territories or whipped up conflicts there. German Chancellor cited the situation in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova and Azerbaijan.
 
More than 4,500 NATO soldiers and officers are stationed in the Baltic states on a rotational basis. Angela Merkel underlined that the units of the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) deployed in the Baltic states as part of NATO missions are needed to deter Russia from using hybrid warfare that includes cyberattacks.