Norway will deploy troops to Lithuania as part of NATO’s strengthened military presence in the Baltics, Prime Minister Erna Solberg announced ahead of the NATO Summit in Warsaw on Friday and Saturday. The move follows NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s statement on Monday that the alliance would increase its presence with four multinational battalions in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
The Norwegian soldiers are expected to join the German-led battalion in Lithuania, which already includes Dutch troops. Each battalion will consist of about 1,000 soldiers, symbolizing NATO’s commitment to defending member states bordering Russia. Stoltenberg emphasized that the deployments send a clear message of collective defense across the Atlantic .
Norway’s contribution aligns with its earlier pledge to provide a “substantial” military presence in Eastern Europe, as Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide announced in June. The battalions are intended both as a deterrent and a reassurance to governments and populations in the region .
