Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda met in Vilnius on Thursday the preparatory brigade of the German Armed Froces, or Bundeswehr, which is to be stationed in the Baltic EU and NATO country by 2027.
"I am pleased that everything is going as planned so far," he said, according to Lithuanian media reports after the meeting with the troops led by Colonel André Hastenrath.
The pre-deployment team of around 20 soldiers arrived in Lithuania on April 8. It consists of specialists from various areas and is set to grow to a deployment team of around 150 men and women by the fourth quarter of 2024.
Germany wants to permanently station a combat-ready and independently operational unit in Lithuania by 2027.
A permanent presence of around 4,800 soldiers and around 200 civilian members of the Bundeswehr, who can bring their families with them, is planned.
"Our task remains unchanged: We must do everything we can to ensure that the military and civilian infrastructure is implemented as planned, and as we have set out to do," said Nausėda.
The meeting was also attended by German Ambassador Cornelius Zimmermann, who afterwards praised the interest in and support for the German soldiers on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.