VILNIUS (Reuters) – Germany will deploy air defence capabilities to Lithuania and the United States will send a troop battalion armed with tanks, Lithuania’s defence minister said on Sunday.
The deployments, which are also due to include more troops from the Netherlands, are separate to troops coming for military exercises Lithuania is set to host in March, Arvydas Anusauskas told reporters.
The deployments and exercises will increase the total number of foreign NATO troops in Lithuania to 4,000 by end-March from 3,000 now, the minister said.
Lithuania had asked NATO to add more troops and equipment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by Catherine Evans)
