Lithuania Builds Military Base to Host 4,000 German Troops as a Deterrent Against Russia

On Monday, August 19, Lithuania commenced the construction of a military base that will eventually house up to 4,000 combat-ready German troops, marking the first permanent foreign deployment of German forces since World War Two. The base is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

Lithuania’s Chief of Defence, Raimundas Vaiksnoras, estimated that the country would invest over 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion) in the base’s development over the next three years, describing it as one of the largest construction projects in the nation’s history. He called it “a huge investment” for Lithuania, a country of 2.9 million people with an economy a tenth the size of Germany’s. “The brigade will serve as reassurance to our population and as a deterrent, to push the Russians out,” Vaiksnoras added during the launch ceremony.

The base, located in Rudninkai near the capital Vilnius, and just 20 km from Belarus, will include housing for up to 4,000 troops, storage and maintenance facilities for tanks and other equipment, and shooting ranges of various sizes. Additionally, around 1,000 German military and civilian contractors will be stationed at other sites across Lithuania.

However, only about 20% of the compound’s buildings in Rudninkai have been contracted for construction so far, raising concerns about whether the base will be completed on schedule. Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas assured reporters that contracts for the remaining work would be awarded by the end of the year, before his government’s term ends.

Meanwhile, the German government has requested parliamentary approval for 2.93 billion euros to purchase 105 Leopard 2 A8 tanks, some of which are intended for the Lithuanian base, according to a confidential draft budget seen by Reuters in June.

In response to the increasing defense demands, Lithuania has raised its defense spending to 3% of GDP this year. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte’s government has also increased taxes to fund defense initiatives like the new base over the coming years. “If we are not secure, there is no security for them,” Simonyte told reporters at the ceremony, referring to Germany.

Germany pledged to station troops in Lithuania, a NATO and European Union member that shares a border with Russia, last year. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius likened the deployment to the stationing of allied forces in West Germany during the Cold War to defend Western Europe against a potential Soviet attack.