by Andrius Sytas
RUKLA, LITHUANIA (Reuters) – NATO must do more to protect itself against Russia and President Vladimir Putin, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Saturday, saying there is no “knowing how far Putin’s delusions of grandeur”.
“One thing is certain: given the current situation, we must do more together,” she said during a visit to German troops deployed in Lithuania.
“The brutal Russian aggression in Ukraine is increasingly violent and unscrupulous (…). The Russian threat to use nuclear weapons shows that the Russian authorities have no scruples.”
Although American authorities have repeatedly stated that they have no evidence that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons, they believe that the threat is real.
The first German troops were deployed in Lithuania, a member of NATO, in 2017 after the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea by Russia.
Germany dramatically stepped up its troop mission in June in response to Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, described by Moscow as a “special operation.”
Christine Lambrecht inaugurated a permanent German command center in Lithuania on Friday, adding that it will allow a brigade to be deployed to Lithuania in 10 days if necessary.
A NATO brigade is made up of 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers, while nearly 1,000 soldiers are permanently stationed in Lithuania.
“We stand with our allies,” she said.
“We have heard the threats from Russia against Lithuania which is implementing European sanctions on the Kaliningrad border. This is not the first time that these threats have been made, we must take them seriously and prepare for it,” she added.
(Report Andrius Sytas, French version Claude Chendjou)
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