According to Defense Minister Pistorius, Germany is ready to move “a robust brigade” from the Bundeswehr to Lithuania on a permanent basis. 4,000 soldiers are being talked about. They are supposed to secure NATO’s eastern flank.
Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has announced that he will send an additional 4,000 Bundeswehr soldiers to NATO partner country Lithuania in order to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank. “Germany is ready to permanently station a robust brigade in Lithuania,” said Pistorius in Vilnius.
He initially did not give an exact time for the stationing. The defense minister emphasized that a corresponding infrastructure on site and “compatibility with NATO plans” are prerequisites. The stationing of a brigade with around 4,000 soldiers “plus material” involved considerable effort, said Pistorius.
The transfer should be gradual
He had agreed with his Lithuanian counterpart Arvydas Anusauskas that the reinforcement of the brigade would “follow the growth of the infrastructure” step by step. Pistorius stressed that the compatibility of the permanent deployment with NATO’s regional and operational plans, which were still being prepared, was of key importance.
In view of the “very long eastern flank”, the alliance must uphold the principle of military flexibility. It’s about defending our common freedom.
Bundeswehr already leads NATO association
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the German government pledged in June 2022 to have a combat troops brigade ready to defend Lithuania in the event of an attack. So far, however, it has been disputed whether the soldiers should be stationed permanently in Lithuania.
The Lithuanian government has vehemently demanded this. For a long time, the federal government was reluctant to comment on this. Now, for the first time, she has made a clear commitment. The Bundeswehr has been present in Rukla, Lithuania, with several hundred soldiers since 2017. There, Germany leads the NATO battle group Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) with currently around 1,600 soldiers, almost half of whom are from the Bundeswehr.
There is also a brigade as part of the Enhanced Vigilance Activity (EVA), which is kept ready in Germany for a quick deployment in Lithuania. In the past few days, around 1,000 soldiers and around 300 tanks and other vehicles have been transferred to Lithuania for a maneuver scheduled for July 7th.
“No room for the little ones Security breach”
Pistorius traveled to Vilnius today, as did NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in preparation for the NATO summit in July. Lithuania borders Belarus and the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.
Head of state Gitanas Nausėda had called for a stronger NATO presence at a meeting with Soltenberg. “This is NATO’s front line, where there is no room for even the smallest security breach.”