RT reported that work on the construction of a German military base in NATO member country Lithuania has just begun.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense announced that the country has begun building a military base located between Russia's Kaliningrad and Belarus. When completed, the base will be a garrison for German soldiers, about 20 km from the Belarusian border, close to Russia's Kaliningrad region.
The two NATO member countries signed the agreement to build this base in December 2023, during a meeting between German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his Lithuanian counterpart at that time, Arvydas Anusauskas. According to the plan, the German army will deploy its first permanent troops abroad since the end of World War II.
It is expected that by the end of 2027, the German garrison will number up to 4,800 combat-ready soldiers and 200 civilian experts, equipped with heavy weapons and support infrastructure.
Called the 42nd Heavy Armored Brigade, the unit will consist of three combat battalions. Two of them would be exclusively German, consisting of an armored battalion and a heavy infantry battalion. The remaining battalion will be multinational.
Speaking at the time, Minister Pistorius described the future deployment as a way for Germany to "assume leadership responsibility" within NATO.
In a post on the Virtue".
The post praised the "unprecedented project" aimed at "strengthening regional security and reaffirming Lithuania's commitment to NATO's collective defense".
Reuters quoted Lithuanian Commander-in-Chief Raimundas Vaiksnoras declaring: "The German brigade will operate to reassure our people and to deter, to push back Russia."
However, speaking at the launch ceremony, Mr. Vaiksnoras admitted that Vilnius will have to spend more than 1 billion euros (1.1 billion USD) in the next three years to develop the base - this is a "huge investment" for for a country of 2.9 million people.
Lithuania has increased defense spending to 3% of GDP this year. The government increased taxes to cover this increased expenditure.
Germany currently commands a NATO multinational vanguard force stationed in the Baltic country.
Russia has repeatedly stated that it considers NATO's move closer to Russia's borders a direct threat to its national security and will have to react accordingly.
