SIAULIAI, Lithuania — As American antiaircraft batteries test alongside NATO allies in the Baltics, Russian troops conduct exercises in beleaguered Belarus, worrying some allies that Russian President Vladimir Putin is aiming for a permanent troop presence on NATO’s eastern flank.

“Let’s not have any illusions regarding Russia,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis told the Washington Examiner at the Defense Ministry in Vilnius Thursday. “The present administration is going to regain influence over the countries in close proximity to them.”