Merz warns of Russia threat, vows to defend NATO allies on Lithuania visit
LONDON - Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned Thursday that Russia threatened security in Europe as he visited Lithuania to mark the official formation of Germany's first permanent overseas military unit since World War II, aimed at bolstering NATO's eastern flank.
The decision to build up a 5,000-strong armoured brigade in Lithuania over the coming years came in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"There is a threat to us all from Russia," Merz told reporters in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
The German deployment is aimed at deterring potential Russian aggression towards Lithuania and fellow Baltic countries Estonia and Latvia, former Soviet republics that have become NATO and EU members and fear they are increasingly in Moscow's crosshairs.
Merz said Germany was determined to defend the NATO territory, adding: "The security of our Baltic allies is also our security."
While Germany has joined multinational military missions, including in Afghanistan and Mali, a pacifist tradition stemming from its dark World War II history meant Berlin was generally reluctant to do more.
The establishment of a permanent brigade overseas is an unprecedented move for the Bundeswehr, as the German armed forces are known, in the post-war era.
Merz, who became chancellor this month, participated in a ceremony in the main square of Vilnius that officially marked the formation of the heavy combat unit, the 45th tank brigade, also known as the "Lithuania Brigade".
The brigade, to consist of around 4,800 troops and 200 civilian Bundeswehr employees, will be gradually deployed over the coming years and should reach full operational capability by 2027.
An advance party of around 400 Bundeswehr personnel are already in the country, according to the defence ministry.
"Anyone who challenges NATO must know that we are prepared. Anyone who threatens any ally must know that the entire alliance will jointly defend every inch of NATO territory," Merz said.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda hailed what he called an "unbreakable force" of the alliance with Germany.
"Together we will ensure that the people of Lithuania and Germany never face the ultimate test: that of war," Nauseda said.
Merz, along with Nauseda and the defence ministers of Germany and Lithuania, inspected the troops, with military bands playing and hundreds of onlookers gathered to watch the ceremony.
"For us, the war is nearby, not somewhere far away," Vytautas Masalskis, 52, told AFP in Vilnius. "People are dying, we understand why because of Russia's invasion."
- Bigger role -
Merz, who has vowed to build up Europe's "strongest conventional army" by ramping up defence spending, will be keen to use the trip to highlight that Berlin is taking on a bigger role on the international stage amid dizzying political upheavals.
US President Donald Trump has heaped pressure on fellow NATO members to increase defence spending, sparked fears about American commitment to Europe and caused shock with his overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he pushes for a Ukraine peace deal.
AFP | Petras Malukas
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said last month that the Lithuanian deployment "sends a strong message of solidarity and readiness".
"Germany is stepping up," he added during events to mark the 70th anniversary of Germany joining the 32-member NATO military alliance.
Lithuania, with a population of 2.8 million, borders both the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Moscow's ally Belarus, and the German defence ministry considers it to be "the most endangered state on NATO's eastern flank".
- Growing hostility -
There have been signs of Russia ramping up hostile activities, with Moscow frequently accused of using "hybrid warfare" tactics in the Baltic Sea.
This month a Russian spy plane was spotted in Belarus apparently attempting to observe a multinational NATO military exercise in Lithuania, news outlet Der Spiegel reported.
But Germany's troop deployment is not without its difficulties.
AFP | Petras Malukas
Some question whether the Bundeswehr, suffering from personnel and equipment shortages after years of underfunding, is prepared for what the defence ministry describes as "one of the most complex and ambitious projects" in its history.
While Germany has been seeking to channel more funds to the military, new equipment will take years to order and produce.
Meanwhile the Bundeswehr, which is aiming to boost its number of soldiers to 203,000 by 2031, has been struggling to recruit.
Parliament in January passed a law aimed at making the military a more attractive career, including more flexible working arrangements and greater financial incentives.
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