A German political scientist criticized Germany's decision to deploy military personnel in Lithuania.

Germany's deployment of about 5,000 troops near the border with Russia in Lithuania will have no real military significance, such an initiative is nonsense. This was reported to Izvestia on May 22 by German political scientist Ulrike Hero.

"If you look at it from the Russian side, what are these 4,800 soldiers? To protect the largest section of the Russian border. To be honest, this is nonsense. <...> Whatever it is, it is rather symbolic," she believes.

The expert also expressed concern about Berlin's political actions due to the fact that they lead to provocation by Russia. According to the political scientist, an alternative solution to the deployment of the contingent should be the restoration of the pan-European "security architecture", as it was in the 1970s and 1980s.

"First of all, I don't see any military use [of the German soldiers stationed in Lithuania]. Secondly, I see that this is a provocation towards Russia. And thirdly, I would like us to start negotiations on what we once had in Germany: if we ever want peace with Russia, we need a common security architecture," concluded Hero.

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The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party said on May 15 that the German government should stop supplying weapons to Ukraine and start a dialogue to restore relations with Russia. It was noted that Germany should return to diplomatic solutions and Russia's integration into the pan-European peace order.