Christian Nawrat, commander of the German brigade assigned to Lithuania, and the battalion commanders have arrived at the Rukla military base in central Lithuania for an exercise, the Armed Forces said on Friday.
“Representatives of the German forces participate in the Lithuanian defence plans’ implementation where the German brigade is an integral part, and therefore joint exercises and training ensure timely interaction and coordinated actions,” the press release read.
As part of Exercise FUEREX 2023, held recently by the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the German 10th Division, around 70 German military personnel conducted reconnaissance in the central, northeastern, and southern regions of Lithuania, identifying possible force movements and deployment locations.
Nawrat is scheduled to meet with Artūras Radvilas, commander of the Lithuanian Land Force, to discuss future projects, troop training, upcoming exercises in the run-up to NATO Vilnius Summit, and a conference planned for late May, according to the press release.
Germany, as the lead nation of NATO’s multinational enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battle Group, stationed in Rukla since 2017, is investing in Lithuania’s military infrastructure and contributing to the modernisation of its Armed Forces.
Last year, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz signed a joint communiqué on the deployment of a brigade in Lithuania.
Lithuania is seeking the permanent presence of the brigade in the country, but Germany has so far only deployed its forward command element in Rukla.
Berlin has said so far that part of the brigade will be stationed in Lithuania, and the rest will continue to be based in Germany.
Nausėda said in April that he and Scholz agreed on a gradual deployment of the German brigade in Lithuania. Vilnius aims to have the brigade in place by 2026.
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