Bundeswehr: Pistorius orders mandatory transfers for Lithuania brigade

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius will now also order mandatory transfers for the complete establishment of the German armored brigade in Lithuania. This is necessary for a number “in the mid three-digit range”, i.e. several hundred men and women, as the Ministry of Defense in Berlin announced.

According to the ministry, almost 80 percent of the positions in the 45th Armored Brigade “Lithuania” are currently filled with volunteers. However, there are some “deficit areas” in the Bundeswehr. As in the civil economy, there is a shortage of logisticians. Information technology specialists are also mentioned.

In response to the changed security situation in Europe and Russia's aggressive behavior, the Federal Government has agreed to permanently station a combat unit in Lithuania that is ready for combat and able to act independently. The brigade is expected to be operational until 2027.

For this purpose, 4,800 soldiers and 200 civilian employees will be stationed on site. Permanent locations will be set up in Rudninkai and Rukla.

“The principle of voluntariness remains our maxim for action,” said the ministry. In areas with a shortage of personnel, shorter assignments, rotation models and short-term business stays should also be examined.

The ministry said there has been a significant increase in volunteer registrations since the end of April. Since May, more than 2,500 soldiers have volunteered.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) said: "Less than three years after the first announcement, it is now clear that the Lithuanian brigade will begin operations on NATO's eastern flank as planned at the end of 2027. Infrastructure, material and personnel will be ready in time so that the Bundeswehr's first fully combat-ready brigade is operational abroad."

In 2024, Germany and Lithuania regulated details with an intergovernmental agreement regarding the stationing of a combat-ready brigade in the Baltic NATO country by 2027 at the latest. The right of residence, tax law, the school system, public health supervision, road traffic and public safety were regulated.

The integration of family members moving with them into working life in Lithuania should be made easier through the recognition of professional qualifications. In practice, however, there are also hurdles that the Bundeswehr cannot help with directly, including a lack of language skills or a low salary level in Lithuania.

Lithuania borders the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and Russia's ally Belarus. Since the Russian attack on Ukraine, the country has felt particularly threatened. According to government information, Lithuania's military intelligence service has information that Russia may be considering attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltic states using Ukrainian drones.

Moscow had repeatedly accused Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania of making their airspace available to Ukraine after attacks on its ports and military facilities. The governments in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius firmly rejected the unsubstantiated claims as disinformation.