“During my visit to Washington, I received firm and clear confirmation from the US National Security Council and the Pentagon that the US presence in Lithuania is indefinite and the deployment of forces in the region will remain unchanged,” the minister told BNS on Wednesday.
According to him, the Americans highly value the conditions of military presence and training in Lithuania, which allow them to ensure adequate readiness of forces for any scenario.
“During the meetings, I made it clear that the US presence in Lithuania is necessary, and together with NATO, the German brigade and national forces, this is exactly the necessary combat power that can reliably deter Russia,” Kasciunas emphasized.
In October 2022, it was announced that following the approval of the Baltic force rotation plan by the United States, a US Army battalion would be stationed in Lithuania until the end of 2025.
US battalions have been rotating in Lithuania since 2019, and rotation companies were deployed to Lithuania from 2014-2017.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Americans strengthened their rotational battalions by sending additional military personnel and equipment to them.
Kasciunas also told BNS that the Americans have accelerated the delivery of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Lithuania.
According to him, the weapons will arrive in May.
The Javelin medium-range anti-tank missile system is capable of destroying modern tanks with reactive armor in daylight and dark at a range of 75 m – 2.5 km. The system operates on the “fire and forget” principle: following the soldier has spotted the target and fired the shot, the missile itself controls its flight to the target.
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2024-05-02 12:37:43
