Lithuania intends to buy German battle tanks "Leopard 2" for a new army division, Minister of National Defense Laurinas Kasčunas told Lithuanian television today, quoted by DPA.
The agency notes that the minister did not specify how many tanks or which model of these tanks Lithuania will purchase, nor how much they will cost.
The contract could be signed in November after the National Security Council makes a final decision on the purchase, Kasciunas said.
Lithuania is a member of both NATO and the EU, bordering the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and Russia's ally Belarus. The Baltic state views Russia's war in Ukraine as a direct threat to its national security. Because of this, the government in Vilnius increased military spending and massively modernized its army, DPA notes.
A new division of the armed forces is to be created, which will also include a tank battalion. In addition, an armored brigade of the German Bundeswehr will be permanently stationed in Lithuania.