Germany’s chief of defence to visit Lithuania

Wieker is scheduled to visit German troops stationed in Rukla and to discuss defence issues with Lithuania’s defence minister and chief of defence.

Germany has sent several hundred troops to Lithuania as part of NATO‘s decision to bolster the Alliance’s defences in Eastern Europe in response to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine.

Information threats against the allied military presence in Lithuania will be discussed during the visit, the Lithuanian Defence Ministry said in a press release.

Lithuanian law-enforcement bodies are investigating who sent an email to the speaker of the Seimas and police last month claiming that German troops stationed in the country had raped an underage girl. Prosecutors have said that the email was sent from a country outside the European Union.

Germany is one of Lithuania’s key partners in the field of military cooperation. Lithuania last year decided to purchase a large amount of military vehicles and equipment from Germany, including armored vehicles, artillery systems and machine guns.