Germany launches permanent troop deployment on NATO’s eastern flank

Berlin pledged the long-term deployment in 2023, breaking with decades of German defense policy that avoided permanent stationing of combat troops abroad. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images

BERLIN — Germany officially launched its first permanent foreign troop deployment since World War II on Tuesday — a 5,000-strong armored brigade in Lithuania — as Berlin moves to bolster NATO’s eastern flank in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

According to the German military’s lobbying group, the newly created 45th Armored Brigade was formally activated during a ceremony outside Vilnius. A temporary headquarters was established, with the brigade's crest unveiled and the unit now officially under the command of Brigadier General Christoph Huber.

“We have a clear mission: to ensure the protection, freedom and security of our Lithuanian allies on NATO’s eastern flank,” Huber told dpa, the German press agency. “In doing so, we also protect NATO territory — and Germany itself.”