Pistorius visits Lithuania: Protection of NATO partners “without ifs and buts”

During his visit to Lithuania, Defense Minister Pistorius made it clear that the Bundeswehr will protect NATO’s eastern flank. But Vilnius would like the German soldiers to be permanently present. Pistorius, on the other hand, wants to wait for a NATO decision.

Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has promised Lithuania permanent military support. “We clearly stand by our NATO partners,” Pistorius said at the end of his two-day visit to Lithuania. “In the end, Lithuania’s security is also our security.”

Due to its geographical location, the country has a special need for protection, said the SPD politician, adding: “Until 1990, Germany was the eastern flank.” Germany is now assuming the responsibility in the Baltics that others assumed for Germany during the Cold War.

Brigade for emergencies

A credible deterrence and defense on the eastern flank is crucial for the security of the NATO partners, said the SPD politician. The German Navy provides secure supply routes in the Baltic Sea and the Bundeswehr supports effective air defense. Pistorius also referred to the multinational NATO combat group Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) with a total of 1,700 soldiers, which Germany has led for six years.

In response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Germany has had a combat troop brigade ready to defend Lithuania since the autumn of last year. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda agreed on this in June. In an emergency, the brigade should be on site within ten days. The majority of the soldiers are currently in Germany.

Pistorius: Permanent presence is a NATO decision

The Lithuanian government would like a larger contingent stationed permanently on the ground. In order to accommodate a full brigade with up to 5,000 soldiers and several battalions of vehicles, appropriate infrastructure is required, emphasized Pistorius. “And it can’t even be built that easily.”

“The idea is that individual units, possibly even the entire brigade, are repeatedly transferred to Lithuania to practice here. That’s the plan,” said the minister. Ultimately, it is NATO that must jointly decide on a permanent presence. “We will talk about it at the NATO summit in Vilnius,” assured Pistorius. However, the summit will not take place until July.

Lithuania is already planning the necessary infrastructure

Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas reiterated his desire for Germany to station a combat troop brigade permanently in his country. He sees Russia ready for a long confrontation. “Lithuania strives for a permanent presence of the German brigade in Lithuania because the NATO defense line starts here,” he said. His country is already implementing a plan for building infrastructure that he presented to Pistorius.

Until a decision is made, there should be further joint exercises by German and Lithuanian soldiers – such as the recent “Griffin Ligthning”. The military exercise took place at the Pabrade military training area with around 650 soldiers.

Problems with new “Leopard 2” tanks?

During his first mission as Defense Minister, Pistorius also had to put up with questions about the state of the Bundeswehr. The Bundeswehr can undoubtedly meet its NATO obligations, said Pistorius, reacting to a report by the ZDF magazine “frontal”.

According to the report, there are massive problems with the new “Leopard 2” battle tanks. The Bundeswehr’s 393rd tank battalion, which has the most modern “Leopard 2” type A7V, would have to keep 30 of its 44 main battle tanks ready for NATO. In January, however, only 17 of the tanks were operational, in February there were 20.

The situation for the coming months looks similarly bleak, it said. Although tanks from other formations should close the gap, this is not a reliable solution. The main reason given was maintenance problems.

Pistorius speaks of traffic jams during maintenance

“We don’t have any equipment shortages with the ‘Leopards’,” contradicted the defense minister. “We had a backlog of maintenance and repairs,” admitted Pistorius, but “it will now be resolved.”

The Bundeswehr was always able to provide the necessary equipment for the NATO intervention force. In 2023, Germany will provide the core of the NATO spearhead VJTF with around 8,000 soldiers.