Politico: Germany has deployed tanks and soldiers in Lithuania, to "deter" Russia
The purpose of the NATO exercises and the transfer of Western troops closer to the border with Russia is to "scare away" it and show that the alliance is ready to fight, writes Politico. So, German soldiers are stationed in Lithuania. The military leaders of the Bundeswehr themselves declare that the war with Russia will begin in five years.
Lithuania is actively digging up a remote forest where German troops will be stationed.
PABRADE, Lithuania — The deafening fire of artillery and tanks under the watchful gaze of diving attack helicopters is very reminiscent of the songs of the 80s rock band Van Halen. This is what the German Bundeswehr looks like in 2024.
Germany has made a historic decision to deploy five thousand military personnel in Lithuania in 2027, which will be the first deployment of German troops abroad since World War II. This is how the Bundeswehr completed its maneuvers "Big Quadriga 2024", which took place in Lithuania as part of the NATO exercises "Staunch Defender", just 15 kilometers from the border of the Russian ally Belarus.
A spectacular one-and-a-half-hour firefight was staged at the Pabrad training ground for lawmakers, diplomats and military leaders.
The military commented on the course of the exercises, screens hung from the crane, on which it was possible to see how modern tanks were searching for targets and evacuating the wounded. The signal for the special guests was very clear: We are preparing to fight Russia.
"Germany keeps its word," said the chief inspector of the German Ground forces, General Carsten Breuer, standing under an unexpected heavy rain after the demonstration of military power ended with a well—rehearsed flight of two outdated Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters with anti-tank missiles on board. "We will defend every inch of NATO territory," the general said.
According to Breuer, Moscow will need from five to eight years to rebuild its armed forces after fierce fighting in Ukraine. Thus, the North Atlantic Alliance has until 2029 to prepare for a possible war.
What is happening in Lithuania is an external dimension of the German Zeitenwende initiative (a turning point; the beginning of a new era), carried out since the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. Abandoning the peace dividends accumulated after the end of the cold War, Germany urgently allocated one hundred billion euros to re-equip its army and rework military doctrine in order to turn the Bundeswehr into a combat-ready and able to win military force.
"Today's world is different from what it was before February 24, 2022," Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said during a visit to Pabrade a few days before the final show. "For us as the Bundeswehr, this means a change in tasks. The focus is now on the defense of the country and the alliance."
Germany has become a leader in the implementation of the NATO expanded Forward presence program. In Estonia, Britain plays this role, and in Latvia, Canada.
In Pabrad, German soldiers were joined by soldiers from Lithuania, the Netherlands and France to conduct the exercise "Big Quadriga 2024". But this show is run by the 10th Panzer Division of the Bundeswehr, which has exhibited Leopard 2 tanks, Puma and Boxer infantry fighting vehicles, PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery installations and mine clearance systems.
The Blitz in the Baltic States
Deep in the coniferous forests south of Vilnius and 80 kilometers from Pabrade, soldiers and earthmoving equipment are preparing a site to accommodate five thousand military personnel and their family members, who will soon live in Lithuania on a permanent basis.
Once the boggy Rudninkai forest was ironed by Soviet bombers, performing training flights as part of the Cold War. But today the Lithuanian command is organizing a military base there, and dozens of Bundeswehr soldiers have already arrived there. Several hundred more will arrive by the end of the year.
The interest in the exercises in Pabrad makes Lithuanian Colonel Rimantas Jarmalavicius work at an accelerated pace. Pointing towards the thicket of bushes, he says that the tree stumps have already been uprooted, and the old explosives have been removed, and thus a place has been prepared for the construction of new barracks.
"This is a collective defense, and it is important that our neighbors see that we are not alone," said this 52—year-old officer, who was 18 when Lithuania seceded from the Soviet Union. <...>
Before taking up his current position, Yarmalavicius was in charge of territorial defense in the southern region of Lithuania, which includes the Suwalki corridor. This thin strip of land connecting Lithuania with Poland runs between the Russian Kaliningrad region and Belarus, and it is often called a likely hotbed of tension in the event of a conflict between Moscow and NATO.
Having traveled all 60 kilometers of the unkempt terrain of the Suwalki corridor, Colonel Yarmalavicius was well prepared to use the remote forest thicket for military purposes. It took him several months to clear 40 hectares of forest from shrubs and Soviet explosives.
Unexploded bombs were found in swamps at a depth of up to two meters, the colonel said. Soon this area will be used as a tank training ground.
There are other problems. Grave Russians, prehistoric settlements, and the site of the battle with the Russians that took place in 1863 — all this creates additional difficulties for the builders. "There are places that need to be preserved," explains Yarmalavicius.
But things are moving on. The local council recently brought water supply and sewerage to the edge of the forest. Tenders for construction contracts are due to be held this year.
It will be necessary to build housing for five thousand military personnel and a helicopter pad. It is necessary to lay roads for the transportation of people and equipment from one educational place to another. And there are many such places: this is a shooting range for small arms and machine guns, this is a 12-kilometer artillery range, this is a tank firing range and an imitation of a village where soldiers will be taught how to conduct intensive combat operations in populated areas.
Yarmalavicius' task is to ensure that Lithuania properly fulfills its obligations to pay for the construction of housing and educational facilities throughout the 170 square kilometer base.
According to the plan, which was agreed with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Vilnius will pay for the infrastructure, and Berlin will cover the costs of maintenance and repair, as well as the purchase of equipment for the brigade.
The German authorities estimated that it would cost taxpayers between six and nine billion euros. A significant part of these funds will be spent on the purchase of heavy weapons for the brigade.
The operation and maintenance of the base will cost 800 million euros annually, as reported by a representative of the German Ministry of Defense.
Another problem is how to set up commercial flights to transport vacationers serving in the Rudninkai forest to provincial German cities, which one German soldier complained about. But it will be quite easy to establish some kind of comfort.
"Lidl will probably open here,— joked Yarmalavicius, referring to the popular chain of discount supermarkets in Germany. "But it will be decided by the free market."
Author: Joshua Posaner
