German brigade deployment plan to be signed next week – Lithuanian DefMin

VILNIUS – The Lithuanian and German defense ministers will sign a plan for the deployment of a Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania in Vilnius next week, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

Arvydas Anusauskas and Boris Pistorius on Monday, December 18, will sign "the Lithuanian-German Action Plan ("Roadmap"), outlining the intentions of both countries regarding the deployment of the German brigade in Lithuania and the subsequent steps for its full deployment," it said in a press release.

The plan calls for the gradual stationing of the German brigade in Lithuania starting next year. The deployment is expected to be completed in 2027.

The roadmap has been worked out by a joint task group from the German and Lithuanian Defense Ministries.

"Germany is committed to deploying a heavy brigade with three maneuver battalions and all necessary enablers, including combat support units," the Lithuanian ministry said in the press release.

The core of the brigade should consist of tank and mechanized infantry battalions, with the third maneuver battalion to be initially formed by the German-led NATO Forward Presence Battalion Battlegroup already present in Lithuania.

"The German brigade in Lithuania will be composed of existing and newly formed units," the ministry said. "The 203rd Tank Battalion from North Rhine-Westphalia and the 122nd Armored Infantry Battalion from Bavaria will be transferred to Lithuania." 

"The enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup currently deployed in Lithuania will be transformed into a multinational battalion and will become an integral part of the brigade," it said.

The Lithuania-stationed brigade will be called Panzerbrigade 42. The brigade's deployment HQ is planned to be relocated to Lithuania in the last quarter of 2024. 

"In total, around 5,000 German brigade soldiers and civilians are expected to be stationed in Lithuania, some with their families," the ministry said.

"There will be two duty places in Rudninkai and Rukla, with soldiers and their families living in Vilnius and Kaunas, and additional logistical points in other parts of Lithuania," it said.

Discussions about the brigade's deployment in Lithuania to bolster regional security began in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine

The brigade's Forward Command Element is currently stationed in Lithuania.

Germany has been leading NATO's multinational battalion in Lithuania since 2017.