Lithuania breaks ground on strategic military base for German troops Near Russian border

Lithuania has commenced the construction of a military base that will host up to 4,000 German troops by the end of 2027, marking Germany's first permanent foreign deployment since World War II.

This development comes after Germany pledged to station troops in Lithuania, a NATO and EU member nation bordering Russia, as part of efforts to bolster regional security, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius likened this move to the deployment of allied forces in West Germany during the Cold War, aimed at defending Western Europe from potential Soviet aggression.

Lithuanian Chief of Defence Raimundas Vaiksnoras estimated that Lithuania will invest over 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion) in the next three years to develop the base, which is one of the largest construction projects in the country's history. Vaiksnoras emphasized the significance of the investment for Lithuania, a nation of 2.9 million people with an economy significantly smaller than Germany's, saying, "The brigade will work as reassurance to our population and as deterrence, to push the Russians out."

The base, located in Rudninkai, near the capital Vilnius and just 20 km (12 miles) from Russian ally Belarus, will include accommodations for troops, storage and maintenance facilities for tanks and other equipment, as well as shooting ranges. Around 1,000 additional German military and civilian personnel will be stationed at other locations in Lithuania.

However, only about a fifth of the buildings at the Rudninkai compound have been contracted for construction, raising concerns about the base's timely completion. Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas assured that contracts for the remaining work will be awarded by the end of the year before the current government's term ends.

Meanwhile, Germany has requested 2.93 billion euros from parliament to procure 105 Leopard 2 A8 tanks, some of which are intended for the Lithuanian base. However, internal budget disputes within Germany's coalition government are threatening to delay the military upgrade.

To support these defence initiatives, Lithuania has increased its defence spending to 3% of GDP this year, with Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte's government raising taxes to fund the base and other security needs. "If we are not secure, there is no security for them," Simonyte remarked, underscoring the importance of Lithuania's role in regional defence.