5,000 German soldiers to based near Lithuania’s border with Belarus

Construction of a military base for a newly deployed German brigade started in Lithuania at the Rudninkai training ground on Monday. 

Officials from both Lithuania and Germany buried symbolic capsules at the construction site as the first stage of the site’s development began. 

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Vilnius and Berlin agreed to the permanent deployment of a German brigade in Lithuania. 

“It is one of the most paramount endeavours that the German armed forces are currently undertaking,” said State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defence of Germany Nils Hilmer. 

Lithuania has promised to build the camp, including infrastructure for a new military town which will cover 200 hectares of land. Buildings to be put up include administration buildings, maintenance and storage infrastructure, a guard building and residential dormitories.

Berlin intends to keep a military brigade fully stationed in Lithuania until 2027. 

German officials have said that the pace of relocation will depend on Lithuania’s readiness to receive soldiers and their families. 

The brigade is expected to consist of around 5,000 soldiers. So far, Lithuania estimated that a third of them will come with their families.  

Investments in military and training related to the deployment of the brigade could reach 800 million euros, according to Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defence. 

“This marks a change in NATO’s planning process,” said Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas. 

“Now we have come to deterrence through denial: having enough forces so that the enemy does not even think of stepping on the territory of Lithuania with its dirty boots.”