JVŽukas: German soldiers to fight in Lithuania without waiting for political decisions
– General, you yourself have spent five years of your career in Germany. How reliable are the Germans in the defense of Lithuania’s allies?
– Like every NATO partner, they must be considered credible. Clearly, decision-making procedures there are more complex due to more complex historical and political circumstances. Even if Article 5 of the NATO Treaty were activated, the German parliament would have to decide on the use of the German army or any other important NATO mission. In America, for example, the president makes the decision to use the game’s army in one part of the world or another.
But they are still NATO’s partners, a reliable country, and we have been cooperating with them for many years and buying various weapons from it. And another very important thing is that the German army or German soldiers must defend themselves if they are attacked in one or another foreign country. There is no need for political decisions on this. They just defend themselves.
Even when I was commander of the army, we had many conversations both with the leadership of the German army and with the leadership of their group. We have always come to one opinion: if something happens, if there is an attack on the Baltic countries, we will all stand together at first. They will not wait for political decisions to be made in Germany, so we need to be attacked because we need to defend ourselves.
And the German army has the right to defend itself if attacked without waiting for any political decisions and instructions. It has always been a kind of agreement in this case that if we are attacked, we all defend, we stand together, it will be better for everyone. And then we will see what the political decisions will be, head on about the evacuation if the German political leadership makes such decisions.
Undoubtedly, the presence of German soldiers here in Lithuania is very important, because it is a real deterrent. And there is a very real possibility that from the very beginning of the military conflict, the Lithuanian and German armies will stand together.
Every country that participates in this battle group has an attack on all the rules of conduct. One situation is with Germany. In a completely different Norway that is ready right away, without any reservations. The Dutch have their views on the direct military conflict if attacked. Everyone is united so that no matter what the rules are during an attack, we all stand together. Such was the agreement between the military. I think it is still valid today.
– In informal conversations with journalists, German officers who care about the NATO battalion also emphasize that we will be very self-sufficient from the first minute. Considering both the political will and the German military capabilities, as well as Lithuania’s infrastructure, Lithuania’s ability to receive troops, how realistically do you think it should be for Lithuania to have a full battle brigade instead of a NATO battalion?
– It is difficult to tell me now because I am not involved in those processes. But one thing is clear: at the moment, the military infrastructure – the training grounds, the barracks, there is still talk of a universal consecration – everything is on the verge. The barracks are overcrowded and now those German soldiers who come to Lithuania in addition to the conflict in Ukraine live in the same premises. Extra beds have just been built and those conditions are fully in line with the deployment of the army. Next – training places, training grounds. And the games, and the Lithuanian army, and the Germans, and the exercises, and the shooting exercises, and the exercise fields, etc. Everything is very crowded, it just happens non-stop, there are no weekends, no days off, no holidays. Time is simply being shared and efforts are being made to take advantage of it.
If the army suddenly helped … Undoubtedly, now a very variant with the Rūdninkai training ground, it would solve this issue to some extent. Well, and of course, accommodation – barracks, park, repair bases, logistics, and so on
It is very important to us that those decisions are made. And to make a decision on the formation of the brigade. If a unit is identified, a unit that will be for Lithuania’s defense, it will have such a task in the region and train together with the Lithuanian army and the Baltic army, it may not matter where it will be deployed or where the soldiers will be deployed initially.
It would be good to have a logistics package in advance and all the necessary equipment for that. It would not be very difficult to move soldiers from one place or another in Germany if the equipment and logistics and ammunition were here. And they’re here to decorate each other, as they do now in history, come here to train. And the task of Lithuania’s defense would be set for them as the main task. This then option is quite acceptable.
And, as far as I know, Jens Stoltenberg (NATO Secretary General) talked about it as the best option. The forces will be assigned to the forces, the equipment will be transferred to the task execution area, they will come here to train, the staffs will work. And, if necessary, people can usually be transferred to the territory of Lithuania in a very short time. And if the technique stands here, it can start working right away.