The armed forces of Germany will send up to 600 soldiers and Leopard 2 tanks to Lithuania in 2017 within the framework of the NATO program, reports the DW.

Experts say that it is a clear signal that Germany is serious about the concerns of the Baltic states and Poland about a military threat from Russia.

The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, said that NATO wants to demonstrate its defensive potentialities with that decision. The same goal is pursued by deploying heavy arms such as like tanks and artillery in the region, even if there is no talk of an imminent threat to the NATO member countries, said Stoltenberg. A similar statement was made by the German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen. She called the support provided to NATO partners as proportionate and protective.

At same time, the head of the Left Party faction Sahra Wagenknecht has sharply criticized the plans of Berlin. “To send German tanks to the border means to forget history and take a new step in the escalation of relations with Russia," she said.