Lithuania plans to purchase German Leopard 2 main battle tanks for a new division of its army, Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas told Lithuanian television on Friday.
He did not say how many tanks or which version of the Krauss-Maffei-built tanks his country would buy — or what they would cost.
The contract could be signed in November, after the National Security Council makes a final decision on the purchase, Kasčiūnas said. Lithuania is a member of both NATO and the European Union.
Lithuania borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Russia’s ally Belarus. The Baltic state views the Russian war in Ukraine as a direct threat to its national security. The government in Vilnius has therefore increased military spending and is massively upgrading its army.
A new armed forces division will be created, which will also include a tank battalion. An armored brigade of the German army, the Bundeswehr, will also be permanently stationed in Lithuania.
