NATO allies are preparing to put four battalions, a force of about 4,000 troops, in Poland and three Baltic States as part of an effort to reinforce the border with Russia. US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said the deployment was in response to Russia stepping up military activity around the Baltics “The Russians have been doing a lot of snap exercises right up against the borders, with a lot of troops,” the Wall Street Journal cited Work as saying “From our perspective, we could argue this is extraordinarily provocative behavior.” Russia meanwhile has repeatedly said that their own buildup and exercises were a response to the build up of NATO’s troops and their aggressive posture toward Moscow. They have warned that the military build up on their border is provocative and could harm regional and global stability. RT reports: Although there have already been talks about German troops to be deployed to Lithuania, Berlin is still mulling its participation. “We are currently reviewing how we can continue or strengthen our engagement on the alliance’s eastern periphery,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday, in light of a recent poll from the Bertelsmann Foundation that found only 31 percent of Germans [...]