Strengthening NATO East Wing, First German Army Convoy Arrives In Lithuania

JAKARTA - A German army convoy of 130 troops and 60 vehicles reached Lithuania on Thursday, carrying nearly half of the planned reinforcements for the German-led NATO war group, amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that there were now every indication that Russia was planning to invade Ukraine, including signs of carrying out a false flag operation to provide excuses, after Ukrainian government forces and pro-Moscow separatists exchanged fire.

Meanwhile, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said he was reassured by German Chancellor Olof Scholz on Thursday in Brussels that German troops were authorized to fight in defense of Lithuania.

"German soldiers are on our territory to defend us, and if there is a threat to Lithuania, they are absolutely ready to do their job," Nauseda said, cited from Reuters, February 18.

German reinforcement operations will continue through the end of the week, strengthening German forces in Lithuania with more than 350 troops and 100 vehicles, said Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Andrae, commander of the Enhanced Forward Presence battle group.

"We have proven that we are capable of carrying troops in a short period of time over long distances," he told Reuters.

The Ukraine crisis has prompted the US-led NATO alliance to shore up its presence along its eastern flank in member states, including Lithuania, closer to Russia or Ukraine.

A convoy of artillery and reconnaissance units departed on Tuesday from Jaegerbrueck in eastern Germany and traveled overland through Poland. This will be followed by howitzers on heavy transport carriers in the next 2-3 days.

"The presence of the allied military in Lithuania is a very important deterrence factor (aimed at Russia)," said Lithuanian Deputy Defense Minister Margiris Abukevicius, Thursday.

Separately, Norway will also increase its share in the German-led battle group to 50-60 troops over the next three months, bringing the total number of NATO troops there to 1.610, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said.

Britain has said it will double the size of its troops in nearby Estonia where it leads a similar NATO war group.

To note, NATO has established four multinational combat groups in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland in 2017 after Russia annexed the Crimea region from Ukraine.

With tanks and over 5.000 troops, battle groups were formed to act as a tripwire and buy time, by resisting any attack until reinforcements arrived.