Lithuania says Russian military activity stoking tension in Baltics

LONDON (Reuters) - Russia's deployment of troops close to Lithuania and its unannounced military exercises in surrounding Baltic areas have heightened tensions in the volatile region, Lithuania's defence minister said.

Alarmed by Russia's seizure of Crimea last year and support for pro-Kremlin rebels in eastern Ukraine, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania along with Poland are some of Europe's most hawkish countries on relations with Moscow.