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Germany is strengthening its presence on NATO's eastern flank. The first soldiers arrive in April to coordinate the Bundeswehr's plans.
Vilnius – The deployment of armed forcesSoldiers in Lithuania continues to take shape. The first soldiers for the German brigade are scheduled to arrive in April to provide increased protection for their NATO partner. According to the Ministry of Defense in Vilnius, 20 soldiers will initially arrive in the capital Vilnius to plan the brigade's deployment to the Baltic EU– and NATO country will be responsible. They should also coordinate the requirements for military infrastructure and support the relocation of German troops to Lithuania, it said in a statement on Wednesday. By the end of the year there should be 150 soldiers.
Strengthening NATO's eastern flank: Bundeswehr exercises planned near the border with Belarus
Germany wants to station a combat-ready and independently acting unit in Lithuania. According to a roadmap signed at the end of 2023, the brigade should be combat capable by 2027. A permanent presence of up to 5,000 Bundeswehr members is planned. “With this war-ready brigade, we are assuming leadership responsibility in the alliance here on NATO’s eastern flank,” said the Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) said months ago.
The main location of the German brigade will be the Rudninkai military training area not far from the border with Belarus. After the military infrastructure has been built, around 80 percent of the soldiers will be based there, the statement continued. The remaining soldiers will be stationed in Rukla in the center of the country.
At the beginning of March, hundreds of German soldiers took part in a maneuver on NATO's eastern flank with their military vehicles. The “Steadfast Defender” exercise series is considered a response to the security policy situation around the Ukraine war and the tense relationship with Russia.
Lithuania provides apartments and buildings for Bundeswehr soldiers and their families
The soldiers and their families are supposed to live in Vilnius and Kaunas. Lithuania will provide the necessary military and civilian infrastructure for the troops and their families for the deployment. A school and a kindergarten are to be built in each of the two large cities. Germany will take care of the educational process and only needs the buildings, said the head of the Committee for National Security and Defense, Laurynas Kasciunas. The apartments for the soldiers are to be rented.
Lithuania borders Belarus, which is an ally of Russia, and the Russian Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad. A narrow land corridor runs west between the two – the so-called Suwalki Gap, where fighting could break out in the event of an attack. Germany's deployment of troops is intended to strengthen NATO's presence in the sensitive zone. (nak/dpa)
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