The decision to deploy a new contingent of the US Armed Forces in Lithuania has effectively been made.
“Elchi” reports that Laurinas Kasčiūnas, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense, stated this on the air of the “Žinių radijas” radio station.
“The deployment of a slightly smaller military contingent to Lithuania is not excluded. However, the status quo will generally be maintained. An informal decision on this has already been made,” he said.
According to Kasčiūnas, the arrival of American military personnel is expected during the summer.
Since 2019, a heavy battalion of the US Armed Forces consisting of approximately one thousand soldiers equipped with Abrams tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and Paladin artillery systems has been stationed in the Baltic state on a rotational basis. In November 2024, it was decided to transition the rotation to a permanent regime, without gaps between unit rotations. At the beginning of June this year, the process of withdrawing the battalion from Lithuanian territory began. Currently, the forces that will replace it have not yet arrived.