VILNIUS (Sputnik) — The equipment will be transferred to the Rukla Garrison of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and the first drills are expected to take place in March, the ministry added.
"After Germany's main military equipment included in the multinational NATO battalion in Lithuania arrived on Friday, the battalion is ready to start training. Among the equipment that arrived there are 20 Marder IFVs [Infantry fighting vehicle], the Dachs engineering tank, the Bergepanzer armored recovery vehicle and five Leopard 2 tanks, as well as the Biber armored bridgelayer," the ministry said in a statement.
Germany has sent about 200 military vehicles, including 30 tanks along with 450 soldiers to Lithuania, where Belgian and a part of Dutch troops have already been stationed. Another part of Dutch troops will arrive in March, while Norwegian troops are expected to arrive in May.
In 2016, NATO decided to deploy additional troops to the Baltic States and Poland during July's summit in Warsaw, citing the states' vulnerability to the alleged threat of Russian aggression after Crimea rejoined Russia in 2014. Moscow has repeatedly criticized the increased presence of the Alliance’s troops and military facilities near Russian borders.
