Bundeswehr bars some Russian Germans from serving in Lithuania

Some German soldiers of Russian or Belarusian descent have been barred from serving with a Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania on security grounds, according to German media.

Bild reported, citing its own sources, that some servicemen failed security checks because of their Russian or Belarusian roots.

The soldiers are still allowed to serve in the Bundeswehr and can visit relatives in Russia or Belarus, but must inform their superiors about such trips.

Those who fail the checks, carried out by Germany’s Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD), are transferred to positions requiring only a basic level of security clearance.

Bild said Germany’s Defence Ministry had confirmed that some Russian Germans were being denied service on NATO’s eastern flank.

By Aghakazim Guliyev