MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. The United States and its allies in the West are waging the first phase of hybrid warfare against Russia, the commander of Russia’s Western Military District, Colonel-General Anatoly Sidorov said on Friday. In doing this they use political and economic methods with the aim of destabilizing the situation in the country, he explained.

"The United States is using greater intensity of the Russian Armed Forces’ operative and combat training in the Western ‘strategic direction’, and also Crimea’s reunification with Russia in attempts to form the image of our country as an aggressor against European countries," Sidorov said.

He recalled NATO had considerably stepped up its military presence in Eastern Europe.

"The anti-Russian policies of the Baltic countries’ political leadership have allowed for the forward deployment of 1,000 troops from the 3rd US infantry division in the territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania," he said.

"Besides, the situation in the region is keynoted by a brainwashing campaign with the aim to foment steady anti-Russian sentiment in society," Sidorov said.