Lithuania intends to purchase Leopard 2 German battle tanks for a new division of its army, Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas told Lithuanian television on Friday.
He did not say how many tanks or which version of the Krauss-Maffei built tanks his country would purchase – or what they would cost.
The contract could be signed in November, after the National Security Council has made a final decision on the purchase, Kasčiūnas said. Lithuania is a member of both NATO and the European Union.
Lithuania borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Russia’s ally Belarus. The Baltic state sees Russia’s war in Ukraine as a direct threat to its national security. The government in Vilnius has therefore increased military spending and is massively upgrading its army.
A new armed forces division is to be established, which will also include a tank battalion. Also an an armoured brigade of the Germany army, or Bundeswehr, is to be permanently stationed in Lithuania.
