Parlt OKs deployment of about 40 Lithuanian troops to NATO mission in Kosovo

VILNIUS – Lithuanian lawmakers on Thursday increased the number of soldiers and civilian employees of the national defense system, allowed to be sent to the NATO mission in Kosovo from five to 60.

94 MPs voted in favor of the Defense Ministry's proposal with no votes against or abstentions.

It was reported earlier that around 40 troops would be sent to Kosovo to join a German-led company.

According to the Defense Ministry, one soldier is currently serving in Kosovo's capital Pristina.

Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene says that the first troop would be deployed for a six-month rotation in October. In her words, during this mission, Lithuanian troops get experience needed to operate in complex situations. Also, the move would send a signal of strategic cooperation to Germany as it heads a NATO battalion deployed in Lithuania and is also expected to deploy a brigade in Lithuania by 2027.

As BNS reported earlier, Lithuania's Defense Ministry received Berlin's request for a Lithuanian platoon-size unit to be assigned to the German company in Kosovo in December.

Lithuania is currently partaking in nine international missions.