A new rotation of US troops is already on its way to Lithuania, President Gitanas Nausėda announced on 22 September. The size of the contingent has not been disclosed. At the same time, the country is preparing enhanced security for the «Gizai» substation near the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation — one of the key hubs of the future Harmony Link power interconnection with Poland.
Briefly about the main points
- Lithuania has not yet disclosed the size of the new US contingent.
- Heavy US units have been rotating through the country since 2019.
- «Gizay» will be protected against explosives, tunnels and Shahed attacks.
- Intelligence sources do not rule out the possibility of a «false flag» attack.
The American presence has become virtually continuous
Naouseda thanked the US President Donald Trump and the US administration, and described the United States’ presence as a key component of deterrence and collective defence NATO. Previous rotations usually involved more than a thousand military personnel and included heavy equipment.
American heavy battalions have been rotating through Lithuania since 2019. Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this presence has become virtually continuous. In June, the President suggested that the next contingent might be larger than previous ones, but the authorities have not yet disclosed the official details of the current rotation.
Washington has been reviewing its force structure in Europe
The announcement of the redeployment of new forces came after several months of uncertainty regarding the future US presence. The US had been reviewing the structure of its forces in Europe, whilst the Lithuanian Minister of Defence Robertas Kaunas In June, he said that the issue of the US military presence in the country was under review.
The previous rotation consisted of two battalions from the US 1st Cavalry Division, equipped with Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and Paladin self-propelled howitzers. Just last week, Nauseda had called for a wait until Washington’s final decision; he has now announced the actual deployment of the new contingent.
The «Gizay» substation is being designed to counteract acts of sabotage and drones
The «Gizay» substation is planned to be built approximately 30 km west of the Kaliningrad Oblast in the Russian Federation. Andrius Semeskiavičius, head of the electricity grid operator Litgrid, told Reuters that the site will be fitted with reinforced fencing capable of withstanding the impact of a lorry laden with explosives.
The project also includes sensors to detect any underground tunnels, reinforced concrete «sarcophagi» around the transformers, redundancy systems for key equipment, and special cooling systems for the protected transformers. The facility is designed to withstand potential attacks by several Shahed drones carrying warheads of up to 100 kg of explosives.
Harmony Link will strengthen the Baltic states’ ties with Europe
Reuters, citing intelligence sources, reported on concerns of a possible Russian attack «under a false flag», which could be aimed at testing NATO’s unity. In such a scenario, the actual organiser attempts to conceal their involvement and create the impression that the attack was carried out by another party. Russia denies allegations of involvement in a series of acts of sabotage in Europe, including attacks on Germany’s energy infrastructure.
«Gizay» is set to become one of the key hubs of the Harmony Link between Lithuania and Poland. The interconnector is designed to strengthen the integration of the Baltic power systems with continental Europe following their disconnection from the Russian grid. Additional security measures have increased the project’s cost by at least €48 million, and Lithuania plans to ask the EU to cover at least half of this amount.
