„This has a huge deterrent effect. It puts us on a different level of security, and it is an example for other countries of the Eastern Flank to create such defence and deterrence architectures within their own borders,“ Kasčiūnas told LRT Radio on Monday.
He said that the deployment of the German Brigade in Lithuania, including the accommodation of the soldiers and their families, will cost the country around EUR 800 million by 2027.
„The total amount is about 800 million euros over those few years. It is well worth it. We will gain this defence, security and deterrence effect from the German Brigade moving here. This is being done gradually, and it spreads out over time. We are capable of doing it“, the Minister said.
„Everybody, left and right, agrees that the arrival of the German Brigade is a priority for national security, so no matter who is in power, this project will go smoothly“, he added.
According to Kasčiūnas, the deployment of the Brigade is proceeding according to plan.
Berlin has committed to deploying a brigade-sized military unit in Lithuania in the summer of 2022, as agreed in a communiqué signed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Gitanas Nausėda.
After lengthy discussions, the Lithuanian and German Defence Ministers signed an action plan for the deployment of the Brigade in December last year. Berlin will send the 122nd Armoured Infantry Battalion, currently deployed in Oberfichtach in southern Germany and the 203rd Armoured Battalion to Augustdorf in western Germany.
The Forward Presence Battlegroup currently deployed in Lithuania will be transformed into a multinational battalion and become an integral part of the Brigade.
In total, around 5,000 German Brigade soldiers and civilians are to be redeployed to Lithuania. Some of them will arrive with their families.
The majority of the Brigade is planned to be transferred to Lithuania by 2026. According to German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, the Brigade will be fully operational in 2027.
