Lithuania Has Started Construction of Military Base Planned To House Thousands Of German Soldiers
On 19 August, Lithuania broke ground on the largest military base in its history for permanently deploying the German armed forces military and civilian personnel (Bundeswehr). The strategic town of Rūdninkai, just a few kilometers from the capital, Vilnius, and Russia’s closest ally, Belarus, was chosen for the location of this joint base.
The decision to build the Rūdninkai military base, one of the most concrete examples of solidarity within the NATO alliance against Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine, was taken by German Federal Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and his Lithuanian counterpart Arvydas Anušauskas at the Madrid and Vilnius summits last year. In addition to Rūdninkai, the agreement includes the construction of a second training ground for German forces in Rukla, near the city of Kaunas.
As a visible expression of its commitment to ensuring security on the alliance’s eastern flank, Germany will deploy a combat-ready brigade of around 4,800 soldiers to the two military bases, as well as around 200 civilian members of the Bundeswehr and support personnel from in-house companies. At the heart of the brigade will be two existing combat battalions of the German army: 122 Armoured Infantry Battalion from Oberviechtach in Bavaria and 203 Tank Battalion from Augustdorf in North Rhine-Westphalia. Around 2,000 military vehicles will support these combat units, including Puma armoured infantry fighting vehicles and Leopard 2 main battle tanks. In addition, the German brigade will comprise other service and organizational elements, such as medical services and logistics, military police, administration, chaplaincy, communications, and information systems support.
Of the above-mentioned support that Germany has committed to send to Lithuania, 80% will be deployed in Rūdninkai, where construction has already begun, while the remaining 20% will serve in Rukla. According to the planned roadmap, the German brigade will officially enter service in Lithuania in 2025 with an activation ceremony. After that, the first training and exercise activities will begin. The full operational capacity of this brigade will be reached in the last quarter of 2027, which is calculated as the end date of the construction of both bases.