Germany deploys armored brigade in Lithuania near border with Belarus
On Tuesday, April 1, the German brigade deployed in Lithuania officially entered service.
This was reported by the DPA agency, Radio Liberty reports, Censor.NET informs.
It is noted that the 45th Tank Brigade of the German Army began duty after a solemn ceremony in Vilnius.
"We have a clear mission, we must guarantee the defense, freedom and security of our Lithuanian allies here on the eastern flank of NATO," said the commander, Brigadier General Christoph Huber.
In response to the new threat posed by Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the German government has pledged to permanently deploy a brigade of up to 5,000 troops to Lithuania, which is a member of both the European Union and NATO.
According to media reports, the first soldiers were deployed in 2024, and the unit is expected to be fully operational in 2027. The brigade will be based in barracks being built at a military training ground in Rudninkai, near Lithuania's border with Belarus.
Currently, about 150 German soldiers are serving in Lithuania under Huber's leadership. It is expected that by the end of the year there will be more than 500.
Lithuania shares borders with Russia's exclave Kaliningrad region and Russia's close ally Belarus.
Russia's war against Ukraine is seen as a threat to the national security of the Baltic states.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius compared the deployment of the German brigade in Lithuania to the deployment of allied forces in West Germany during the Cold War to protect Western Europe in the event of a Soviet attack.
