The most important of the security assurances that Lithuania was given at the NATO Summit in Warsaw in June 2016 was the collective Alliance’s decision to establish an enhanced forward presence to the Baltic States and Poland from 2017. It was aimed to unambiguously demonstrate, as part of our overall posture, Allies’ solidarity, determination, and ability to act by triggering an immediate Allied response to any aggression. NATO Heads of State and governments adopted the decision in response to the Russian aggression in Ukraine and the changed geopolitical situation.
The NATO enhanced forward presence battalion (eFP) in Lithuania is led by framework nation Germany and contributing nations (Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Croatia, Luxembourg and Iceland).
At peacetime the NATO battalion battle group trains together with Lithuanian forces, just like it would defend Lithuania alongside national forces and additionally deployed reinforcement in case of a crisis. The eFP multinational battalion battle group is based in Rukla. It is assigned to and falls under command of the Mechanised Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and train alongside its soldiers in its military training cycle.
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