Germany to bolster troop presence in Lithuania to counter Russian aggression

Germans under the Nazi regime invaded the Baltic nation Lithuania approximately seven and a half decades ago in WWII, but as Russia amassed soldiers on the frontier with Ukraine, and the threat of an armed invasion of Kyiv loomed large, Germany is considering bolstering the Lithuanian forces in an act of solidarity as an ‘ally.’ Germany does not rule out sending more combat troops to Lithuania, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said on February 6, adding that Berlin was already making a humongous military contribution in Lithuania as it is “the only country in the European Union to have a battlegroup.” 

In an interview on Sunday with the Funke media group, Lambrecht said that Germany will stand by its commitment with the NATO forces, led by the US, Canada, and Britain. Sending German soldiers to Lithuania would mean that in an event of an attack, NATO troops will have more time to reach the frontline as the German troops make attempts to stall the incursion.

Lithuania president Gitanas Nauseda and German Defense minister Christine Lambrecht. [Credit: Twitter/@BG_LTU_eFP]

Lithuania facing 'most dangerous situation since independence'

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda told a presser that the Baltic nation was facing the “most dangerous situation since regaining independence” in 1990-91. He expressed concerns about more than 100,000 Russian troops buildup on Ukraine’s border,  and “even more importantly” the Russian military concentration in neighbouring Belarus. 

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Russia has mobilized more troops, weaponry, and military equipment to Belarus and that the troop concentration is bigger than ever witnessed in the last 30 years. “Over the last days, we have seen a significant movement of Russian military forces into Belarus. This is the biggest Russian deployment there since the Cold War,” NATO chief Stoltenberg told reporters during a press briefing at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Russian troop deployment in Belarus comprises 30,000 soldiers, Russian special forces, advanced fighter jets, Iskander short-range ballistic missiles, and S-400 ground-to-air missile defence systems, according to NATO chief. The deployment is only 100 km between Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, near the border area known as the Suwalki gap the most vulnerable piece of land in Europe close to Lithuania. 

[Credit: AP]

Germany, though, stepped up to provide the military assistance to Lithuania as Defense minister Christine Lambrecht said, ”As a matter of principle, additional troops are available as reinforcement, and we are in talks with Lithuania at the moment to find out what exactly would make sense in this regard.” In addition to that, Eurofighters would also be deployed to Romania for air surveillance. "Everyone in NATO can rely on us,"  Lambrecht said in the interview, reminding that Germany has been involved in the NATO operation in Lithuania for over five years. It provides half of the 1,200 NATO troops in Lithuania since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. germany's announcement comes as United States deployed 3,000 troops that arrived at Rzeszów military base in south-eastern Poland to strengthen NATO's war capability.