Germany’s Bundeswehr expects that the German brigade to be deployed in Lithuania will be made up of volunteers, Major General Ruprecht von Butler, commander of the German 10th Panzer Division, said, BNS reports. He assured that there would be enough troops willing to volunteer. Germany will deploy around 5,000 troops to Lithuania over 2025-2026, and…
Sweden will deploy an army battalion of 800 troops to Latvia in early 2025, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced, LSM reports. The mechanised battalion, which may include Leopard tanks, will be part of the Canadian-led NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group based in Latvia. Sweden is due to join NATO soon. In July 2023,…
NATO has affirmed decisions taken at the alliance’s Madrid summit in 2022 to deploy more combat-ready forces to the Baltic States, LRT reports. NATO allies will increase their troop presence in the region to brigade-size units. Meanwhile, German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, announced that Germany’s deployment of a full brigade in Lithuania would be done…
The defence ministers of Canada and Latvia have signed a commitment to increase the size of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence battle group in Latvia to a brigade, LETA reports. Under the plan, Canada will double its number of troops in Latvia. Canada will deploy 2,200 troops, with the ability to add hundreds more as needed,…
Latvia’s President, Edgars Rinkevics, met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Riga, LETA reports. The two officials discussed the NATO summit in Vilnius, support for Ukraine, the situation in Belarus and Russia, and bilateral economic cooperation. Rinkevics expressed Latvia’s wish for Canada to expand its military presence in Latvia. Canada leads the NATO enhanced…
Canada’s first ambassador to Lithuania, Jeanette Sautner, has taken office on 10 July 2023 after presenting her diplomatic credentials to President Gitanas Nauseda, BNS reports. Nauseda said that the opening of the Canadian embassy in Vilnius would open new opportunities to further strengthen bilateral relations. He thanked Canada for its contribution to strengthening the security…