Germany 'taking responsibility' on NATO's eastern flank in Lithuania

Germany is "taking responsibility" on NATO's eastern flank with its deployment in Lithuania, a top German parliamentary official said on Friday on a visit to the Baltic country.

"Lithuania's security is Germany's security," said Julia Klöckner, president of the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament.

"Germany is taking responsibility where European security is being defended in very concrete terms," she added on her visit to the Lithuanian military base in Rukla.

The German military, the Bundeswehr, is in the process of stationing a permanent brigade in Lithuania with up to 5,000 troops as part of the defence of NATO's eastern flank.

The 45 Armoured Brigade is a response to the growing threat from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. It formally entered service in April 2025 and is expected to be fully operational by 2027.

"What works is strength and credible deterrence," said Klöckner, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "not only threatening to attack the Baltic states" but also Berlin.

"The message to him must therefore be clear and unambiguous: anyone who tests NATO on its eastern flank will come off worse."

Lithuania borders the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad as well as Russia’s ally Belarus, whose territory is regarded as a staging area for the Russian military.

With the deployment of the brigade, the Bundeswehr is entering uncharted territory. Unlike all previous overseas missions, this involves the permanent stationing of a large unit abroad.

"For us Germans, this marks a shift in perspective," said Klöckner. "We are no longer merely part of an alliance; we ourselves are a guarantor of security," she added. "The credibility of our alliances is decided on the eastern flank."