Germany points Russia as a threat to security in Europe

The German chancellor accused Russia on Thursday of threatening Europe’s security. Friedrich Merz spoke in Lithuania, where he marks the arrival in the country of a German armored brigade designed to reinforce the eastern front of the Atlantic alliance.

« Russia, as it is today, is a threat to all of us. It’s against this threat that we protect us and that’s why we are here today, » said Friedrich Merz.

Friedrich Merz and Germany’s Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius, visit the former Soviet Republic on Thursday, independent since 1991. This is the first time the German Federal Army sends a complete brigade abroad for a permanent mission.

Merz and Pistorius participate in the military ceremony of the 45th Armored Brigade, or “Lithuania Brigade”, present since the beginning of April with 400 soldiers currently on the ground.

The brigade will increase to about two thousand soldiers in mid -2026 and then to five thousand staff, including 200 civilians in 2027.

Berlin said it is a protection mission of the « eastern flank of NATO against the growing threat of Russia. » Lithuania and the two other Baltic states, Latvia and Estonia have been members of the Atlantic Alliance since 2024. Baltric countries are fearful to be the next targets of Moscow although they belong to the covenant.

According to the German weekly Der Spiegel, in early May, a Russian spy plane was detected at neighboring Belarus airspace during a NATO military exercise in which the German army was participating.

The 45th Armored Brigade “is in the sights of Russian secret services,” writes Der Spiegel, based on a warning of German military counter-espionage services.