Germany to send 4000 troops to Lithuania, will Strengthen NATO's eastern border

NATO: Germany plans to send 4000 additional troops to Baltic country of Lithuania in an effort to beef up NATO's eastern border with Russia. The announcement was made by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on June 26. He stated "Germany is ready to permanently station a robust brigade in Lithuania." Until now Germans had shown hesitation in stationing combat troops, insisting that troops could easily be deployed from bases in Germany in case of an attack. Currently, only the brigade's command post with just 20 German soldiers are in stationed in Rukla, Lithuania.

Why Lithuanian border matters

Lithuania shares border with Russian enclave of Kaliningrad oblast. It is isolated from Russian mainland and is at a strategic location in Baltic Sea, surrounded by NATO and its allied countries. In case of any escalation, securing Kaliningrad oblast would be an important strategic objective of the military alliance. In June 2022, Germany had pledged to Lithuania that it will deploy a full brigade to defend in case of an attack.

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Pistorius in Lithuania

German defense minister Boris Pistorius is on a visit Lithuania to observe a joint NATO exercise between the German and Lithuanian armies. As part of exercise called "Griffin Storm" Germany has sent 1,000 soldiers and 300 tanks of the 41st Mechanized Infantry Brigade "Vorpommern" to Lithuania.  This marks the 3rd time such exercises are being undertaken and are scheduled to last until July 7. The training area where exercises are being conducted is Pabrade which is located less than 200 kilometers from Kaliningrad. President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda has stated that the move is also motivated by establishment of Russian militia Wagner in the neighboring Belarus

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