Other events in Baltic States

A US battalion is arriving in Lithuania this week for a month of training, informed LETA/BNS.

The American troops will be stationed in Pabrade, close to Vilnius. 

"We are talking about a battalion of 800-900 troops. They will stay in our country until late September or early October, but no exact date for their departure has been set," Captain Andrius Dilda, a PR officer at the Defense Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, told on Wednesday. 

The US troops are expected to arrive next weekend and bring together 30 to 40 units of heavy military equipment, including Abrams tanks and Bradley IFVs, he said.  

The Defense Ministry said in a press release that "these exercises of the US troops in Lithuania are pre-planned and not associated with any events in the region".

A US battalion was deployed to Lithuania in October 2019, bringing together around 30 Abrams tanks, over 20 Bradley IFVs and other military equipment.

The American troops had intended to leave Lithuania in the spring of 2020, but changed their plans due to the coronavirus pandemic and officially completed the mission in mid-June.

US troops are expected to come to Lithuania on a rotational basis in the coming years, too. 

As a deterrent to Russia, a German-led NATO multinational battalion has been stationed in Lithuania since 2017.