Boris Pistorius praises that it is “really a special step” that Germany is taking here. The Defense Minister expressed his gratitude during a visit to the brigade incident command and a military exercise.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius met in Vilnius with the advance command of the Bundeswehr brigade that Germany plans to station in the Baltic NATO partner country by 2027.
“I am very, very pleased about what you are doing here. It is exemplary, it is unprecedented in the history of the Republic and the Bundeswehr,” said the SPD politician at the meeting with the troops led by Colonel André Hastenrath. It is “really a special step” that Germany is taking here.
In response to the changed security situation in Europe, the German government has promised to permanently station a combat-ready and independently capable combat unit in Lithuania. The brigade is to be operational by 2027. A permanent presence of around 4,800 soldiers and around 200 civilian Bundeswehr members is planned. The advance command with around 20 soldiers arrived in Lithuania on April 8.
Minister at military exercise
After meeting with the incident command, Pistorius made his way to the Pabrade military base. There he attended a military exercise with live ammunition shooting at the largest military training area in Lithuania. An attack by an enemy military force on alliance territory was simulated. Pistorius himself was brought into the extensive and sparsely vegetated training area on a Leopard 2 main battle tank.
Later, the SPD politician saw the events up close in a Fuchs armored transport vehicle and also climbed into the self-propelled howitzer 2000 – the Bundeswehr’s heaviest artillery piece. “Thank you very much for allowing me to go with you. I don’t have the opportunity to go with you on a regular basis either,” Pistorius said in front of German soldiers with whom he met for a conversation after the exercise.
The military exercise called “Grand Quadriga” was part of the NATO defense exercise “Steadfast Defender” – the largest NATO maneuver since the end of the Cold War around 35 years ago. Germany is taking part with 12,000 Bundeswehr soldiers and several of its own exercises. “We are doing this for a good reason,” emphasized Pistorius. It’s about demonstrating not only the ability to fight, but also the willingness to fight.
Lithuania borders on Belarus, which is allied with Russia, and on Russia’s Baltic Sea enclave of Kaliningrad. Between the two countries, a narrow land corridor runs west from Lithuania to Poland – the so-called Suwalki Gap, around which fighting could break out in the event of an attack. For the Lithuanians, Germany’s troop stationing is a desired reassurance of NATO’s commitment to assistance.
Source: Stern
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