Germany vows to complete Lithuania brigade despite volunteer shortfall

Germany will ensure its brigade in Lithuania reaches full operational capability by the end of 2027 despite a shortage of volunteers, Ambassador Cornelius Zimmermann told LRT.

Germany’s Defence Ministry has said Defence Minister Boris Pistorius plans to order some soldiers to be transferred to the German armoured brigade in Lithuania. Volunteers have so far filled about 80 percent of the positions, according to the ministry.

“Our commitment to transfer a brigade with full operational capability to Lithuania by the end of 2027 is set in stone,” Zimmermann said. He added that Germany was particularly seeking specialists in information technology and other fields, who were difficult to recruit.

“Imagine yourself in their position. You have never lived abroad before. Your wife or partner has a job. Your children attend school. I think this is a serious step, and we need to give them some time. But be assured, we will fill the gaps, because this is a matter of national interest,” the ambassador said.

Fausta Šimaitytė, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Lithuania, said linking the brigade’s success to volunteering may have been a mistake. In her view, it should have been clear from the beginning that the brigade was a German armed forces mission, not a volunteer project.

Šimaitytė said radical parties were using Pistorius’s plan to compel some German soldiers to move to Lithuania to promote a narrative that young people would be sent to the eastern front. She said the brigade was also highly important to Germany, representing its greater ambitions and willingness to take on a larger role in European security.

Juozas Olekas, speaker of Lithuania’s parliament, said he had no doubt Germany would fulfil its commitment to the brigade.

About 1,700 brigade soldiers have already been transferred to Lithuania, and the number is expected to reach about 2,000 by the end of the year. A military town is being built in three stages in Rūdninkai to accommodate the brigade, with the first stage expected to be completed soon.

“In October, we will go to Germany to report that construction is nearing completion and that the first stage will be finished. From February, the Germans will gradually be able to move in with their equipment,” Deputy Defence Minister Bronius Bieliauskas said.

The second stage began in the summer and includes accommodation, garages, workshops, canteens, warehouses and training facilities. Soldiers are also being offered housing, rent and travel compensation, education opportunities for their children and language courses. Germany covers part of these costs.