German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius will visit Lithuania on Monday to inaugurate a logistics support site for the German brigade stationed in Rukla.
According to Lithuania’s Defence Ministry, the opening ceremony will also be attended by Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė, Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces’ 1st Division Aurelijus Alasauskas, and Brigadier General Christoph Huber, commander of the German brigade deployed in Lithuania.
The Permanent Logistics Support Area, built on the grounds of a former vehicle depot in Rukla, Jonava District, will serve as a hub for maintaining and storing military equipment for both the German brigade and NATO’s multinational battlegroup.
Covering nearly 20 hectares, the site includes more than 15,000 square metres of workshops, offices, warehouses and other facilities, alongside 120,000 square metres of paved areas and roads. The project also upgraded local roads, installed utilities, and added a solar power plant as well as electronic and physical security systems.
The construction, financed by Berlin and delivered by a German contractor with 15 Lithuanian construction firms as subcontractors, was carried out through NATO’s Support and Procurement Agency.
Germany plans to deploy a brigade of 4,000–5,000 troops in Lithuania by the end of 2027. Most will be based in Rūdninkai, Šalčininkai District, with engineering and reconnaissance units stationed in Rukla.
Berlin has stressed that the pace of deployment will depend on Lithuania’s ability to provide suitable infrastructure for the troops and their families.
Lithuania’s Defence Ministry estimates that total investment in military and training facilities for the brigade could reach €800 million.
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