Merkel hindered the defense of Crimea in 2014: revealed details from a NATO general

Ukrainian expert, former commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Jonas Vytautas Zukauskas, expressed the opinion in his book that Angela Merkel hindered the Ukrainian military from defending the Crimean Parliament from Russians in 2014. He even quotes the then temporary president of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov, who claimed that this was 'Merkel's request during a phone conversation'. After these events, the attitude towards Chancellor Merkel among Eastern European countries deteriorated, especially in Warsaw, which began to criticize Germany for supporting the Kremlin. Merkel's popularity in these countries significantly suffered after the implementation of the 'Nord Stream-2' project and events related to Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine.