NATO used Russia’s military exercise, Zapad 2017 as a pretext for deploying troops in the Baltic states and Poland
Everyone who wished to attend the exercise, did so, and confirmed that everything was transparent. But, while hysteria was whipped up, the U.S., together with NATO, was able to deploy additional military contingents and military hardware on the sly to the Baltic states and Poland.The excuse was used though the fears were not in the slightest justified, but as the phrase goes, the case is closed.
As explained by DFRLab, while there are NATO troops and equipment in Poland and the Baltic states, Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov’s claim that the presence increased in response to Zapad 2017 is misleading. The United States did, in fact, deploy three additional fighter jets and 600 American paratroopers to the Baltic states and Poland for the duration of Zapad. However, the deployment was public, reported by Reuters at the time, and there is no evidence to suggest that the additional forces overstayed their visit.
Similarly, the recent arrival of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) to Poland, which was recently targeted by similar Kremlin disinformation, was a part of a planned rotation of U.S. Army Europe, a part of Operation Atlantic Resolve. As @DFRLab reported in October, the deployment of the 2nd Armed Brigade Combat Team was first announced in April 2017, six months before the start of Zapad 2017. There is no evidence to uphold the claim that the deployment was linked to Russia’s military exercise, but the deployment was rather a part of the rotational schedule. Further information at https://medium.com/dfrlab/balticbrief-russia-claims-secret-nato-deployment-e6c0e649ccfb