Premier says German brigade deployment will not be delayed

Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius says he has assurances from Germany that the deployment of its brigade to Lithuania will not be delayed, LRT reported. Germany has said it lacks enough volunteers to fill the unit.

“We have assurances from the German side that the process will not be delayed,” Sinkevičius told reporters on Thursday. He said challenges had emerged but were being addressed, and that no political decisions had changed or postponed plans for the brigade to be in place in 2027.

Germany’s Defence Ministry has said Defence Minister Boris Pistorius plans to order compulsory transfers of soldiers to the German armoured brigade in Lithuania to fill vacant positions.

According to the ministry, volunteers currently fill nearly 80 percent of positions in the brigade. The greatest shortages are among logistics and information technology specialists.

The ministry is also considering shorter deployments, rotation models and short-term service visits to address the staffing gaps. It said the number of volunteer applications had increased noticeably since the end of April, with more than 2,500 soldiers volunteering to serve in the brigade.

Berlin committed in the summer of 2022 to deploying a brigade-sized military unit in Lithuania. About 5,000 German military personnel and civilians are expected to move to Lithuania, some with their families. Most of the brigade was planned to be transferred by 2026, while Pistorius has said it will reach full operational capability in 2027.