Lithuania is building a military base 20 km from the border with Belarus

Lithuania has started construction of a military base — up to 4 000 German soldiers will be stationed there. The construction is planned to be completed by 2027, it will cost about $1.1 billion.

This is reported by Reuters.

Last year, Germany undertook to deploy its troops on the territories of the European Union and NATO bordering Russia. This will be the first time German troops have been stationed in other countries since World War II.

The military base will be near the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, and 20 kilometers from the border of Belarus, which is an ally of Russia.

Commander-in-Chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Raimundas Vaikšnoras said the base would deter and dislodge the Russians.

This year, Lithuania increased its defense spending to 3% of GDP and raised taxes for defense needs.

• In January of this year, the Ministry of Defense of Estonia informed that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will create a joint line of defense on the border with Russia to "deter and, if necessary, defend against a military threat."
• In June, the Baltic states called on the European Union to allocate money for the construction of a defense line along the border with Russia and Belarus — it is estimated to cost €2.5 billion. The Baltic states say it will "address the acute and urgent need to secure the EU from military and hybrid threats."

Author: Iryna Perepechko