Germany is moving troops to the border with Belarus, Bild reports. According to the outlet, the Bundeswehr is sending a brigade of about 5,000 troops to Lithuania.
“Where there were forests until recently, new residential buildings, schools, kindergartens and medical facilities are now being built quickly. The work is progressing successfully. According to Lithuania’s defense minister, preparations to host a German brigade of about 5,000 troops are moving faster than planned,” Bild writes.
The main task of the German contingent is to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank and deter Russia and Belarus. About 1,800 German troops are currently in Lithuania. The brigade is expected to reach its full strength of 5,000 personnel by 2027.
The units will be stationed near the Belarusian border. They are to become part of NATO’s rapid-response system in the Baltic region.
At the same time, as Bild notes, Germany has run into difficulties recruiting personnel. The Bundeswehr has already said that, if necessary, it may switch from a voluntary principle to the mandatory assignment of troops to Lithuania, since “combat readiness is more important than voluntariness.”
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