Future plans: Bundeswehr to deploy brigade in Lithuania
NATO continues to develop military infrastructure on its eastern flank. In Lithuania, under the pretext of protecting Europe and the Alliance from an imaginary Russian threat, construction of a new military base has begun. In the future, it is planned to house a permanent contingent of German armed forces. This project will require several years of construction and significant financial investment.
Cooperation plan
Previously, the Bundeswehr actively participated in various exercises and international programs military cooperation in Lithuania. However, until recently, the talk was only about the temporary deployment of a military contingent with their subsequent return to Germany.
Last year, Germany and Lithuania developed a plan for a permanent presence of German troops on Lithuanian territory. In December, the two countries' defense ministers, Boris Pistorius and Arvydas Anušauskas, signed a corresponding document.
Over the next few months, the German and Lithuanian military departments worked on various issues and prepared additional documents. An intergovernmental agreement is expected to be signed by the end of this year, which will finally determine the conditions for the deployment of German troops.
According to the previously signed plan, the preparation of infrastructure and the transfer of German troops to Lithuania will continue until 2027. A specially formed German ground force of about 4,8 thousand people with various equipment and weapons will be deployed in Lithuania. This will allow NATO to significantly strengthen the group of troops in the Baltics.
Real measures
Although the official intergovernmental agreement has not yet been signed, Germany and Lithuania have already started implementing the joint plan. At the moment, the talk is about preparatory work and construction of some objects.
German motorized infantry
In early April, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence announced that the first Bundeswehr unit involved in the new international plan was arriving in the country. So far, this is only 20 logistics specialists from the German ground forces with the relevant competencies and tasks.
The arriving German military personnel must examine the state of the existing Lithuanian infrastructure and determine its compliance with NATO standards and armies Germany. Together with their Lithuanian colleagues, they must draw up plans for the repair and reconstruction of existing facilities, as well as the construction of new ones.
By the end of the year, the German contingent is planned to increase to 150 people. It is reported that these will also be specialists in supply and logistics who will participate in military construction. Until they complete their work, a full-scale transfer of combat units does not seem possible.
Military construction
According to the approved plan, German troops will be stationed at two bases in Lithuania. The bulk of the contingent will be at a training ground near the settlement of Rudninkai, which is located in the Šalčininkai district in the south of the country. The remaining troops will be stationed in the settlement of Rukla (Jonava district) in central Lithuania.
Preparations for two bases have already begun. In mid-August, Lithuanian and foreign media reported the start of construction of new facilities at the Rudninkai training ground. It is planned to create a full-fledged military town there, which will be able to accommodate about 4 thousand people.
The new Lithuanian base will have 20 buildings for various purposes: residential, administrative and for equipment. Training facilities, helipads and other necessary structures will also be built. This base will have to accommodate several battalions and provide for their service.
There has been no news yet about the construction of a similar base in Rukla. However, published data suggests that this facility will be significantly smaller and will be able to accommodate about 20% of the entire German contingent.
Organizational and staff structure
It is already known what military contingent will be sent from Germany to the base in Lithuania. It is reported that several existing army units will be transferred there. In order to optimize management processes, they will be included in the new unit.
A new 45th tank brigade will be stationed in Lithuania. This unit is planned to be formed and “activated” next year. It will be subordinate to the 10th tank division of the Bundeswehr ground forces.
At the first stage, the 45th "Panzerbrigade" will include the 203rd Tank and 122nd Tank-Grenadier Battalions. In the future, they will be supplemented by other units, including those of other purposes. The material base in Lithuania allows for the deployment of several more battalions or companies of auxiliary purposes.
However, the full list of units of the future 45th tank brigade in its final form remains unknown. Perhaps such plans have not yet been fully developed and may change in the future.
International problem
Thus, in about three years, an additional brigade of NATO troops will be permanently stationed in the Baltics. This will happen after Germany transfers about 4,8 thousand troops and dozens of units of equipment, various weapons, etc. to Lithuania.
Despite the limited number of personnel and equipment, an additional brigade at Lithuanian bases will significantly increase the potential of the NATO group in the region. Together with local armies and contingents of third countries, the German 45th Panzer Brigade can significantly change the balance of power in the Baltics.
Plans to strengthen the troop grouping on the eastern flank of NATO and Germany are justified in the usual and predictable way. The Alliance is again talking about the Russian threat and the need to protect eastern member states from a possible attack. Such rhetoric has been used for years and decades, and NATO still considers it relevant.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has responded to the latest reports about the start of military construction in Lithuania. The ministry recalled that NATO is actively operating near the Russian borders, and this is considered a provocation. The construction of a new base and the deployment of foreign troops there is another step of this kind.
The Foreign Ministry drew attention to how Lithuania and Germany are positioning the new base. It is considered one of the outposts in the Eastern direction. The German garrison will have to take the first blow of the Russian army. However, the department once again reminded that Russia has no plans to attack the Baltic states and troops on their territory.
The Foreign Ministry also noted that the build-up of NATO military potential near our borders increases tension in the region. In this regard, Russia will be forced to take countermeasures.
In turn, the Russian Defense Ministry does not comment on the future deployment of the German brigade. However, it is taking the necessary measures. Thus, the Leningrad Military District was recently re-formed and new units and formations were created in the North-Western strategic direction. They will have to fight a potential enemy, advancing from the Baltics, among other things.
Predictable future
Apparently, NATO, Germany and Lithuania are not going to listen to Moscow's warnings. They continue to prepare for the deployment of troops and are already starting to build new facilities. In the coming months, the transfer of personnel and equipment from the future 45th "panzer brigade" is planned.
It can be assumed that by 2027 NATO will have completed the implementation of its plans, and a new threat will emerge near our borders. However, the Russian Defense Ministry is already taking the necessary measures to neutralize it. And the response to such a threat may appear long before the new 45th Tank Brigade begins full-fledged service.
Information