Zingeris: Lithuania Needs Additional NATO Forces And Air Defenses Against Russian Drones

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Emanuelis Zingeris, deputy head of the Lithuanian delegation to PACE, made these remarks in a comment to a Ukrinform correspondent when asked whether U.S. troops would help defend Lithuania in the event of a possible Russian attack.

“It's not just about U.S. troops. Fortunately, we also have a German contingent-a heavy brigade. There should be two American battalions, and this is extremely important to us. In the future, it would be good to increase this number to at least four,” he noted, adding that with American troops in Lithuania,“things will be much calmer.”

According to Zingeris, the next priority should be air defense, particularly countering Russian drones. He recalled an incident in which Italian fighter jets, deployed as part of a NATO mission, shot down a drone that had violated Lithuanian airspace.

“We need to seriously focus on defending the skies-over Vilnius and the Baltic states. We are seeing that provocations from the air are becoming more frequent,” the lawmaker said.

Zingeris called the news of a new U.S. troop rotation“expected” and expressed the view that U.S. policy regarding the defense of NATO's eastern flank remains consistent.

Read also: Lithuania calls new Russian threats concerning Kaliningrad psychological pressure

The Lithuanian lawmaker also linked his country's experience to Ukraine's future security:“I hope that after the hostilities end, we will be able to establish something similar in Ukraine-by which I mean the presence of a substantial foreign contingent-as we move on to the next stage of defense.”

As previously reported, on September 22, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda announced that a new rotation of U.S. troops was heading to the country. According to him, their numbers will be no fewer than during the previous rotation. Later, Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas clarified that two U.S. battalions are expected to arrive in late October.

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