Defence chief inaugurates German command centre in Lithuania

German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht has visited Lithuania and said NATO must "do more" in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "delusions of grandeur".

She made the comments during a visit to Lithuania, where she met with German troops deployed there as part of a NATO mission as well as with her Lithuanian counterpart Arvydas Anusauskas, DW reports.

Lambrecht inaugurated a permanent German command centre in Lithuania on October 8.

She said the centre would help move a NATO brigade, made up of 3,500-5,000 troops, to Lithuania in 10 days if needed.

The NATO military alliance must "do more" to protect itself from Russia, Lambrecht said.

Germany deployed its first troops to Lithuania in 2017. Berlin agreed to ramp up its mission in Lithuania following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

There are currently about 1,600 NATO soldiers stationed in Lithuania.

"The security of Lithuania is the security of Germany. It is this promise of common security that we are recommitting ourselves to today," Lambrecht said at a ceremony at Lithuania's Rukla military base.