US moves troops, tanks into Lithuania in message to Russia
The United States began deploying a battalion of troops and dozens of tanks to Lithuania for an unprecedented six-month rotation on 21 October, a move sought by the Baltic EU and NATO state to deter neighbouring Russia.
Dozens of Abrams tanks and Bradley armoured vehicles arrived by railway at the army training area in Pabrade.
Lithuania's Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis said the deployment of some 500 US troops scheduled to stay through the winter proves that a US military presence on NATO's eastern flank ‘is no longer a taboo’.
‘First and foremost, it is a message to Lithuania and neighbouring NATO states that allies are together with us,’ the minister told AFP. ‘And it is also a message to Russia that the US is engaged, and it is an additional deterrence element.’
Ben Hodges, the former commander of US Army forces in Europe, said the US deployment was a ‘manifestation of American commitment to continued deterrence along NATO's eastern flank’, at the time when US was pulling American troops out of Syria and abandoning its Kurdish allies.
‘Nobody, including the Russians, should be confused by the Americans' commitment to NATO despite what was I think a mistake of pulling out of Syria," Hodges told AFP.
Two years ago, NATO deployed a German-led multinational battalion of around 1,000 troops to Lithuania, an EU and NATO nation of 2.8 million people.
The alliance installed similar battalions in Poland and Baltic states Estonia and Latvia as tripwires against possible Russian adventurism in the region after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
The entire region had been dominated by the Soviet Union for more than 40 years after World War II.
More from Land Warfare
-
![EU to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells]()
EU to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells
The European Union has agreed to supply Ukraine with one million rounds of artillery ammunition over the next 12 months.
-
![Turkish Armed Forces to begin testing latest Altay tank ahead of 2025 mass production]()
Turkish Armed Forces to begin testing latest Altay tank ahead of 2025 mass production
Manufacturer BMC says the Altay's design has evolved considerably since the programme began and expects to begin mass production by 2025.
-
![Sweden orders tactical comms shelters from Conlog]()
Sweden orders tactical comms shelters from Conlog
Sweden has ordered tactical communications shelters with deployable masts for its armed forces from Conlog under a €20 million contract.
-
![France's Technamm to unveil new special forces vehicles]()
France's Technamm to unveil new special forces vehicles
Inspired by lessons learned in Ukraine, the 4x4 Technamm Fennec 2 is looking for its first customers, while the Masstech Commando has already been ordered by France and Jordan
-
![WFEL awards more subcontract work on UK Boxer armoured vehicle programme]()
WFEL awards more subcontract work on UK Boxer armoured vehicle programme
WFEL has awarded a contract for streamlined inventory management and component supply on the British Army's Boxer 8x8 Mechanised Infantry Vehicle programme as the UK supply chain is built up.
-
![Milanion NTGS joins forces with Global Ordnance to promote mobile mortars for US market]()
Milanion NTGS joins forces with Global Ordnance to promote mobile mortars for US market
Milanion NTGS has signed an agreement with Global Ordnance to pursue sales opportunities in the US for its platform-agnostic mobile mortar systems.
