“This is a historic decision both for Lithuania and Germany. It will significantly increase defence potential, enhance NATO deterrence and collective defence,” Minister of National Defence of Lithuania Arvydas Anušauskas said at a press conference in Vilnius.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in turn stated that the signing of the roadmap marks a new phase in the friendship between the two countries.
The German brigade’s command element has been already station in Lithuania. According to Anušauskas, initial units of the brigade will arrive next spring and a brigade redeployment element will be formed by the end of 2024. He said the initial team of up to 200 soldiers that would arrive in spring would lay the groundwork for the deployment of the brigade as numerous logistics and infrastructure projects have to be implemented. Whereas the main units of the brigade would be sent in 2025-2026.
The minister said that the majority of troops would be stationed in Rūdninkai and Rukla, but additional logistics facilities would be established as well. The families of troops would live in Vilnius and Kaunas, whereas education, healthcare and other services would be provided in German and a separate cross-border agreement would be signed for that.
Minister Pistorius stressed that Germany would gradually deploy nearly 5,000 troops in Lithuania, depending on how fast the required infrastructure is developed. He said the Bundeswehr has never before stationed so many troops abroad and the brigade is expected to reach its full operational capability by the end of 2027.
The brigade will be subordinate to a German division. It will include the 203rd Tank Battalion from North Rhine-Westphalia and the 122nd Armoured Infantry Battalion from Bavaria. Speaking about costs, the minister pointed out that sustaining a brigade in Germany costs around EUR 25-30 million per month.
“As the Host Nation, we will be responsible for providing the best possible conditions for the German military and their families. We will need to do quite a lot of homework but I am certain we will be able to do it quickly and well. We will collaborate closely with the Federal Ministry of Defence throughout the implementation of the Roadmap: our combined efforts will make the German Brigade in Lithuania a real NATO enhanced forward presence role model,” Anušauskas is cited as saying in the ministry's press release.
The action plan was drafted by an expert joint working group formed by the Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania and the Federal Ministry of Defence of Germany. The main part of the German Brigade will be stationed in the territory of Rūdninkai Training Area, while the remainder will be deployed in Rukla where Allied troops are located already.
There will be also locations across Lithuania which will serve as logistical hubs for the Brigade. In total, approx. 5 thousand civilian and military personnel of the German Brigade are planned to be moved to Lithuania, a part of them will arrive with families and settle in in Kaunas and Vilnius.
Preparations to host the Brigade will be coordinate at the highest level by a Commission formed by the Government and headed by the Prime Minister. It will include Ministers of National Defence, Finance, Transport and Communion, Education, Science and Sport, Foreign Affairs and First Deputy Chancellor of the Government of Lithuania. The Commission will be responsible for core solutions of providing civilian infrastructure and services for the German Brigade. The Ministry of National Defence will remain at the helm of coordination of the deployment process of the German Brigade in Lithuania.
