By Andrius Sytas

RUDNINKAI, Lithuania (Reuters) – Lithuania began construction on Monday of a military base that, once completed by the end of 2027, will house up to 4,000 combat-ready German soldiers, the first permanent foreign deployment of German forces since World War II.

Germany committed last year to stationing troops in the NATO and EU member state bordering Russia. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius compared the decision to the stationing of allied troops in West Germany during the Cold War to defend Western Europe in the event of a Soviet attack.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Vaiksnoras estimated that the country would spend more than one billion euros ($1.10 billion) over the next three years to build the base, one of the largest construction projects in its history.

It is “a huge investment” for a country with 2.9 million inhabitants and an economy that is one tenth the size of Germany, Vaiksnoras said on the sidelines of an opening ceremony.

“The brigade will provide security to our population and act as a deterrent to drive out the Russians,” he added.

HOUSING, TANKS AND STORAGE

The base in Rudninkai, near the capital Vilnius and just 20 km from Russia’s ally Belarus, will house up to 4,000 soldiers, provide storage and maintenance space for tanks and other equipment, and firing ranges of all sizes. Around a thousand more German military and civilian personnel will be stationed at other locations in Lithuania.

However, so far only about a fifth of the building complexes in Rudninkai have been signed a construction contract, which raises fears that construction work will not be completed on time.

Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas told reporters that his ministry would award contracts for the remaining work by the end of this year, when his government’s term ends.

The German government has asked parliament for 2.93 billion euros to order 105 Leopard 2 A8 tanks, partly to equip the Lithuanian base, according to a confidential budget draft seen by Reuters in June.

However, internal budget disputes within Germany’s divided coalition are jeopardizing Berlin’s promise to modernize its armed forces.

Lithuania has increased its defense spending to three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, and the government under Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has raised taxes to cover defense needs, such as the base, in the coming years.

“If we don’t have security, there will be no security for them either,” Simonyte told reporters at the ceremony, referring to Germany.

(1 US dollar = 0.9063 euros)

(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by Sharon Singleton)