Germany to station 4,000 troops in Lithuania to shore up NATO flank

Germany plans to station an additional 4,000 soldiers in NATO ally Lithuania to help secure the alliance's eastern flank, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Monday.

"Germany is ready to permanently station a robust brigade in Lithuania," Pistorius said during a visit to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. Facilities would need to be built to accommodate the troops, according to the German defence minister.

Lithuania has repeatedly called on Germany to place combat troops in the country that borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on Monday that the infrastructure to accommodate the German troops would be ready by 2026.

"This is the front line of NATO where there is no place for even the slightest security gap," Nausėda said earlier on Monday following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Nausėda said that Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine as well as the unrest in Russia over the weekend due to the uprising by Wagner mercenary troops highlighted the need for a stronger NATO presence along the alliance's eastern flank.

"This undoubtedly has implications for the security both in Lithuania and the region," he said.

"For the Baltic region and the entire eastern flank, air and missile defence and an increased presence of allied forces on the territories of our countries are critically important. Effective deterrence and forward defence are our top priorities," Nausėda said.

Lithuania is currently hosting NATO exercises this week and is scheduled to host the alliance's summit on July 11-12.

Germany pledged in June 2022 to have a full brigade ready to defend Lithuania in case of an attack.

Until now, however, Berlin had resisted permanently stationing most of the brigade in Lithuania, insisting that the troops could be rapidly deployed from bases in Germany within 10 days in the event of unrest or rising tensions.

Currently, only the brigade's command post with about 20 German soldiers are in the Lithuanian town of Rukla. The rest of the 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade "Vorpommern" remain at various locations within Germany.

About 800 additional German troops are in Lithuania as part of a German-led NATO battle group.

Pistorius' remarks in Lithuania, where he is visiting to observe NATO exercises and meet officials from the alliance, is the first clear German government statement on the matter.

Referring directly to the war in Ukraine, Germany is still not prepared to send long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine despite repeated requests from Ukrainian officials, Pistorius said during his visit to Lithuania.

"Regarding long-range weapons, I want to say again very clearly that we are still in a cautious position - just like our US partners, by the way," Pistorius said. "Nothing has changed in our assessment at the moment."

Ukraine requested Taurus cruise missiles from Germany at the end of May. But Germany remains cautious about delivering missiles that could strike well into Russia, despite Ukrainian pledges not to use Western weapons to strike Russian territory.

Taurus KEPD 350 missiles, which are jointly produced by Germany and Sweden, have a range of up to 500 kilometres.