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German brigade in Lithuania set to be combat ready in 2027

December 18, 2023

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius says an agreement on the permanent deployment of a German brigade in NATO member Lithuania is a "historic moment."

https://p.dw.com/p/4aHwS
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius visits NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group of German troops in a snowy forest in Lithuania
Some 5,000 German brigade soldiers and civilians are expected to be stationed in LithuaniaImage: Ints Kalnins/REUTERS

The German defense minister on Monday visited Lithuania to sign a roadmap for the permanent deployment of a Bundeswehr brigade to the Baltic nation.

The deployment, intended to support Lithuania's security after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, will be the first time that Germany permanently stations troops outside its borders.

Germany to station troops in Lithuania

What the defense minister said

"We will and we are ready to defend NATO territory," Pistorius said in a press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart, Arvydas Anusauskas.

The two ministers stressed the commitment of their countries to "defend each other and every centimeter of alliance territory at all times and to protect our freedom and democracy in accordance with Article 5 of the Washington Treaty."

The Washington Treaty, the founding basis of NATO, stipulates in Article 5 that an armed attack on any member will be deemed an attack against all.

The Bundeswehr division will start to arrive in 2025 and is planned to reach full fighting readiness in 2027, Anusauskas said.

What are the details of the 'roadmap'?

The aim is to station 4,800 troops and around 200 civilians permanently in Lithuania in coordination with NATO.

Berlin will deploy two combat troop battalions from the German states of Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia to form the core of the new Lithuania brigade.

How Russia could cut NATO off from the Baltic states

A third battalion will be a multinational NATO battle unit as part of the alliance's Enhanced Forward Presence force.

A battalion is already in Lithuania, under German command, with rotating personnel from several other nations.

Lithuania has a border with the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and Moscow's close ally Belarus.

Western military analysts in the West have long viewed the Suwalki Gap, the part of Lithuania's territory lying between the two, as a potential flashpoint area in any standoff between Russia and NATO.

rc/fb (dpa, Reuters)

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