NATO forces stationed in Lithuania and the country's government are preparing for a “total defense”. This was stated by Head of State Gitanas Nausėda on March 29 at the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Lithuania’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance; his speech was broadcast by a television company LRT.
According to Nausėda, 3 thousand NATO soldiers are currently based in Lithuania. He also said that the alliance's annual exercises are conducted based on “overall defense plans.”
Earlier this day it was reported that the Netherlands would temporarily deploy the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) in Lithuania. According to the Minister of National Defense of the state, Laurynas Kaciunas, such exercises contribute to the implementation of NATO's rotational air defense model.
On March 28, the commander of the Lithuanian army, General Valdemaras Rupsis, said that the country plans to prepare to receive American F-35 fighters by the end of 2025.
On March 7, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas, who resigned on March 15, announced that a NATO mission would begin work in Lithuania in 2024 on a rotational basis, which should provide the country’s air defense, including Patriot systems. As LRT clarifies, due to the lack of their own air defense systems, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia proposed to deploy NATO air defense systems on their territory on a rotational basis. Such an agreement between the Baltic countries and the North Atlantic Alliance was reached in June last year.
NATO fighters have been based at Zokniai Air Base since 2004 on a rotational basis. Airplanes take shifts to control the skies of the Baltic countries, which do not have their own aircraft for this. In 2014, the second part of the mission was located at Ämari airbase in Estonia. Earlier, on March 7, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas announced that a NATO mission would begin work in Lithuania on a rotational basis in 2024, which should provide air defense (air defense) for the country , including Patriot systems. As the LRT portal clarified, due to the lack of their own air defense systems, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia proposed to deploy NATO air defense systems on their territory on a rotational basis.
The deployment of NATO forces in the Baltic states comes against the backdrop of increasing talk about a possible conflict with Russia. However, on March 26, National Security Advisor to the President of Lithuania Kestutis Budrys said that Lithuania and NATO are not interested in fighting with Russia.
In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a conversation with the military on March 28, said that Russia is not going to fight with NATO. According to him, this is just nonsense. He noted that Russia did not move towards the borders of NATO countries, but the alliance came close to the Russian borders.
Before this, in November 2023, it became known that a Bundeswehr tank brigade would be stationed in Lithuania on a permanent basis. It was specified that the 203rd Tank Battalion from Augustdorf and the 122nd Panzergrenadier Battalion from Oberwichtach are planned to be deployed in the Baltic country as the core of the new brigade. The new brigade is expected to be officially operational in early 2025.
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