Germany Will Deploy a Military Contingent in Lithuania
The Ministers of Defense of Lithuania, Arvydas Anušauskas, and Germany, Boris Pistorius, plan to sign a plan for the deployment of a Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania. This will signify the consolidation of a further strategic course towards the full deployment of the German contingent.
This was reported by LRT.
The plan, developed by a joint working group of the defense ministries of both countries, envisions the gradual deployment of German military personnel on the territory of Lithuania from 2024 to 2027, with the planned completion of the deployment.
It is expected that the German brigade in Lithuania will consist of five battalions, including tank and artillery units. In total, Germany intends to station around 5,000 soldiers and civilians in Lithuania, who will join their compatriots during a prolonged rotation.
German military personnel will be stationed in Rukla and Rūdininkai, with another part located in Vilnius and Kaunas. At the same time, additional points of material and technical support will be created in other parts of Lithuania.
Earlier, in November, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated that he would like to expedite the process of placing a German brigade in the country and complete this process by the end of 2026. The Lithuanian leader also emphasized that he had already discussed this matter with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
"I did indeed speak with the President of Germany during my visit a few days ago about the need to expedite and shorten this process as much as possible. Time is not a factor working in our favor," Nauseda noted.
Recall that in November 2023, Boris Pistorius stated that Germany is ready to take on the role of a leader in NATO and protect the alliance's eastern flank from Russian aggression.
"NATO has gained even more relevance and importance with Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine, because we can’t expect Russia to abandon its imperial fantasies in the coming years and decades, we are contributing significantly in the alliance to a credible and effective deterrence,” emphasized Pistorius at a NATO policy conference held in Berlin in the fall.
It is worth noting that discussions about protecting the so-called 'NATO Eastern flank,' including through the deployment of a German brigade in Lithuania, intensified after Russia decided to invade the territory of sovereign Ukraine, thereby starting the largest war in Europe since World War II.