Lithuania ready to host 7,000 NATO troops by end of the year

Lithuania will be ready to receive at least 7,000 NATO troops by the end of this year, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, head of the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defence, has said.

“As far as the accommodation of allies is concerned, we […] will be able to host at least 7,000 troops by the end of 2022,” Kasčiūnas told BNS on Wednesday.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Seimas Committees on Nation Security and Defence, as well as Foreign Affairs, held a closed-door meeting, discussing Lithuania's readiness to host NATO troops and the establishment of a new training area for the Lithuanian Armed Forces in Rūdninkai.

Last week, the government allocated 40 million euros to set up new camps for allies, with a total of around 2,400 troops to be accommodated in three camps – 800 troops in each. The new camps will be located in Kazlų Rūda, Marijampolė, and Pabradė.

German troops arrive in Lithuania | NATO eFP

“This is already a very strong improvement of the host country’s capabilities, a message that we have moved very strongly and are moving forward, and it is very important that representatives of different political forces back this,” Kasčiūnas said.

The Seimas is planning to adopt a special law to speed up the establishment of the Rūdninkai training area, he said, adding that it “will be fully functional in 2023”.

Laima Liucija Andrikienė, the chairwoman of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, told BNS after the committee meeting that the preparation of the infrastructure to host NATO troops is “moving forward fast”.

Lithuanian and NATO flags | Defence Ministry

“What we heard today shows that we are moving at a really fast pace and in 4-5 weeks, we will have a very different situation,” she said.

Decisions were made last year to establish a new military training base near the village of Rūdninkai in south-eastern Lithuania, within the territory now used by the Public Security Service.

In the past few weeks, NATO allies have sent additional forces to Lithuania in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the deteriorating security situation in the region. There are now over 3,000 NATO troops in Lithuania.