The slow march toward potential future direct NATO war with Russia continues, as on Monday Germany made a huge announcement which signals continued escalation, even as Ukraine’s counteroffensive fails to make significant gains, and Russia witnesses rare internal “cracks” after the Wagner-Defense Ministry brief armed power struggle over the weekend.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has revealed plans to station 4,000 soldiers in NATO ally Lithuania to assist in securing the alliance’s eastern flank. “Germany is ready to permanently station a robust brigade in Lithuania,” Pistorius said from Vilnius. Base housing will also be constructed to host the permanent deployment of troops, he described.
German commanders have already long led a battalion of NATO troops in Lithuania (about a 1,000-strong multinational force), but Vilnius has since the Ukraine war began consistently asked for more reinforcements of German troops in the country.
Lithuania can be considered a Baltic outpost of NATO’s military presence in Russia’s own backyard, given Lithuania borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.