- 2 months ago
Where German troops train with live ammunition: Euronews on NATO's eastern flank
Eurofighters, Leopard tanks, drones and helicopters – Euronews reports from military exercises in Lithuania. On NATO's eastern flank, German troops prepare for a real-life emergency as we join tank crews and electronic warfare units near Belarus.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/08/28/german-troops-on-natos-eastern-flank-war-has-never-been-this-close
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Eurofighters, Leopard tanks, drones and helicopters – Euronews reports from military exercises in Lithuania. On NATO's eastern flank, German troops prepare for a real-life emergency as we join tank crews and electronic warfare units near Belarus.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/08/28/german-troops-on-natos-eastern-flank-war-has-never-been-this-close
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:01Every round is life. Every impact is real. Belarus is just 12 kilometers away.
00:16By the end of 2027, nearly 5000 German troops will be stationed in Lithuania.
00:31But who are the men and women behind this mission?
00:52Zennelager near Paderborn in western Germany, just after 9 in the morning. Here the Tank Battalion 203 from Augustov begins
00:59its journey to the Baltics, where it'll take part in the multinational NATO exercise.
01:03Freedom Shield 1.
01:08For many of these soldiers, this is more than just another exercise. By the end of 2027, they'll be deployed
01:14to Lithuania in stages as part of the Lithuania Brigade, around 4800 troops in total.
01:23But who are these soldiers heading to Lithuania?
01:29Here we meet two volunteers who have signed up for several years in Lithuania.
01:33Like every interview we conduct with serving soldiers, this one also takes place in the presence of military press officers.
01:40It'll be their first long-term posting abroad. And it'll take them right to the border with Belarus.
01:47Of course, you always have a nervous feeling, but we have a clear task, and we will fulfill it to
01:53100%.
01:54We are all well trained. We train for the earthquake, if it should come.
02:00Of course, we don't hope, but if it should happen, we will be ready.
02:11Around 600 soldiers serve with Tank Battalion 203. Kevin, known as Rogi, is one of them.
02:41The Lithuania Brigade is still taking shape, with Tank Battalion 203 being one of its five battalions.
02:50For now, the move is voluntary, but as the relocation draws closer, there are growing questions over whether enough soldiers
02:56will come forward.
02:58The German army has said it cannot rule out compulsory transfers if numbers fall short.
03:03So what's the situation in Tank Battalion 203?
03:06This is probably the most important task in the history of this band.
03:13And that fills us with a certain kind of pride, but especially we take the responsibility that stands behind this
03:23task.
03:25The deployment is meant to be voluntary, but as the deadline approaches, doubts are growing over whether that will be
03:30enough.
03:31The German army no longer rules our compulsory postings if too few soldiers volunteer.
03:38So what's the situation in his battalion?
03:40Im Panzerbataillon 203 haben wir tatsächlich eine sehr hohe freiwilligen Quote.
03:47Die Zahlen, die kursieren, muss man immer einordnen.
03:51Ich kann für mein Bataillon sprechen und die Masse der Soldaten ist bereit, freiwillig mit nach Litauen zu gehen.
03:57Und das ist auch genau das, was ich als Führer möchte.
04:01Ich möchte Soldaten an meiner Seite haben, die von dem Auftrag überzeugt sind und die gemeinsam in dem Team Panzerbataillon
04:10203 diesen verantwortungsvollen Auftrag übernehmen.
04:25The Leopard 2 is one of the Bundeswehr's most advanced main battle tanks, weighing more than 60 tons.
04:31Every centimeter counts as it's loaded onto the train bound for the ball takes.
04:39Da hinten stehen schon ein paar Panzer, morgen wird noch ein weiteres Dutzend verladen.
04:44Die werden dann nach Litauen verfrachtet und da werden wir auch die beiden Soldaten wieder treffen.
04:58Before traveling to Lithuania ourselves, we first head to Berlin.
05:06Eine Frage, die wir uns gestellt haben, ist, warum hat sich Deutschland entschieden, eine Kampfbrigade in Litauen aufzubauen?
05:13Ich habe die Entscheidung gestellt, um eine spezielle военные Operation zu machen.
05:22Russias 4th-Scala-Invasion of Ukraine has reshaped security in Europe.
05:26Along NATO's eastern flank, fears of further Russian aggression have grown.
05:33When Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, President Vladimir Putin justified the move in part by claiming to protect Russian
05:41-speaking minorities,
05:43who used the same argument to justify the full-scale invasion of Ukraine eight years later.
05:48Russian-speaking minorities also live across the Baltic states.
05:51In Lithuania, they make up around 5% of the population.
05:55After the illegal annexation of Crimea, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania called for a stronger NATO presence along the alliance's
06:02eastern flank.
06:04In response, NATO established four multinational battle groups in 2016, with Germany leading the one in Lithuania.
06:10NATO and government officials warn that Russia may one day attack other countries too.
06:20So what does that mean for Germany and the Bundeswehr?
06:23To find out, we head to the German parliament.
06:29It is so, that we are at the moment, that Russia is not in the way,
06:34that Russia is not in the way, successfully against the NATO to fight,
06:37because we are at the moment in the NATO at the NATO at the time.
06:41But Russia is massive.
06:43We see the development of widespread weapons systems.
06:46We see the recruitment of 1,5 million soldiers.
06:50We see the preparation of infrastructure for troops stationing directly on the NATO-Ost flank.
06:56That is, that Russia is ready.
06:59The Bundeswehr is also re-arming.
07:01By 2029, Germany aims to make its armed forces war-ready.
07:05It is a strange belief that after the end of the military action of Russia,
07:12after the attack in Ukraine, there will be no further military escalation.
07:17In the same way, we see the preparation of a new Russian attack,
07:21and this time against NATO partners.
07:23And that is exactly the reason why we are with our brigade
07:26a clear sign in this region.
07:30By the end of 2027, Tank Battalion 203 will relocate to Brussels.
07:35The Lithuanian Brigade's main base, just 15 kilometers from the border with Belarus.
07:41Lithuania sees Belarus as a security threat.
07:44Russian forces launched part of their 2022 assault on Kyiv from Belarusian territory,
07:49and Moscow and Minsk continue to hold regular joint military exercises.
07:54Now, there are no direct attacks from Belarus,
07:58but from a military point of view, it is like a military backyard of Russia.
08:04They are deploying nuclear weapons, deploying Oreshnik,
08:08they are using our infrastructure,
08:12they have logistic capability to use Belarus.
08:17Lukashenko actually militarized our economy.
08:20Lukashenko is a very loyal and cheap partner for Putin.
08:26And at any moment, if there is necessity or crazy idea not to escalate
08:31or to use our territory for direct intervention, it can be used easily.
08:41We traveled to Lithuania to see NATO's eastern flank for ourselves.
08:45For a week, we accompanied the Bundeswehr during exercise Freedom Shield
08:49and the Vigilant Owl mission, just a few kilometers from Belarus.
09:00Among the soldiers training here are Kevin and Rogi from Tank Battalion 203.
09:06At the Pobrada training area around an hour from Vilnius,
09:09the exercise enters its live fire phase.
09:13Tanks and artillery have to work together.
09:40Tanks and artillery have to work together.
10:01Kevin and Rogi have also completed their live fire exercise.
10:06We weren't allowed to film alongside them.
10:08Afterwards, we hear how it went.
10:13We have begun with the actual exercise.
10:16Also, without ammunition, without shooting.
10:18With Simulations devices.
10:21Where we have been trained.
10:23You learn a lot.
10:25You can improve your skills.
10:27And then, after that,
10:29there was a two-day shooting.
10:32Where we have done that in a sharp shot.
10:37And then, after that,
10:38there is also a lot of snow and sand.
10:41How is that as a driver?
10:43It is different than in Germany.
10:46I say so,
10:47it is for me first of all the best place.
10:50I am under the belt.
10:52I don't get any of that much.
10:53I actually don't get any of that much.
10:56It is difficult if you are in a row.
10:59If you are in a row,
10:59if you are in a row,
11:00if you are in a row,
11:01you will get the target target.
11:02But as a driver,
11:04we also have air-wärmed devices.
11:06And that works.
11:07And the commander supports you from above.
11:10Freedom Shield is also a test
11:11of how the near Lithuanian Brigade works together.
11:16I think,
11:17here is this,
11:18just to make it a little bit more
11:21to live,
11:21or,
11:21or,
11:23see you that also?
11:24Or,
11:24how have you that in the last few weeks
11:26experienced?
11:27Yeah,
11:28well,
11:28the word,
11:28just to make it easier said than done.
11:32You have to be sure
11:32of course,
11:34of course,
11:34but,
11:36I think,
11:37we make it here in the Brigade 45
11:39more possible than we had before.
11:44And,
11:45that makes good fun.
11:49For Tank Battalion 203,
11:51it's time to head home.
11:52Before they can leave,
11:53the tanks have to be cleaned
11:54and loaded onto trains.
11:55But this won't be their routine
11:57for much longer.
11:57By the end of 2027,
11:59the battalion is due to be
12:00permanently based in Lithuania.
12:04While Tank Battalion 203
12:06prepares for the journey home,
12:08soldiers from the mechanized
12:09infantry battalion wanted to
12:11are learning to build
12:11protected positions
12:12for drone teams.
12:24For security reasons,
12:25this soldier has asked
12:26not to show his face.
12:27We had to use for the
12:29drone training
12:30for the training
12:30that were taught
12:31to the military
12:32and to help us
12:35with the training
12:37to train
12:39to build a training
12:39for the training
12:40for the training
12:40for the training
12:40in the training
12:40that could create
12:42the best possible
12:43to make a real
12:43video for us
12:44and our forces
12:45to be trained
12:45to be trained
12:47as well.
12:50Here is the entrance, the entrance is open, so that we can find it again.
13:03We are now in the room in the room, in which then later four soldiers and soldiers work, live and
13:09fight.
13:11They sleep here.
13:12They have two double-stock beds here, where they put them on the floor and then sleep.
13:18They have different screens, one for the clearing throne and then the second screen, there is the work throne.
13:25The soldiers dug the first tunnel by hand. It took them around 30 hours to build.
13:30After that, an excavator helped with the rest.
13:34It's really cool. You can see how they worked.
13:38What I take from today, is to just do it.
13:41Yes, you can just try a lot here in Lithuania and do it very realistic.
13:46That's what we will hopefully not expect later.
13:48But you are not attached to all the documents and regulations as they are in Germany.
13:54The people here trust something and you want to do something here.
14:03Everything the Bundeswehr does here, every new capability, every exercise, every adaptation,
14:09is closely watched by potential adversaries.
14:12We met the inspector of the Cyber and Information Domain in Vilnius to ask him how real that threat is.
14:18They must permanently rechna, that their behavior is preserved, that they will be able to spire,
14:24that they will be able to spire, if they will be able to spire, if they will be able to
14:26spire.
14:26If that happens, they will not wait long for themselves.
14:31If that happens, they will be able to save the water supply of a Kaserne,
14:35aжеic-to-be-to-be-to-be-to-be-to-be-to-be-to-be-to-be-to-be-to
14:38-be,
14:38what I do want to do is ...
14:38We are permanently exposed to this risk.
14:41We inform you of course, if you have conversations with the families at home,
14:48so that you should listen to them in your conversation,
14:54what could also happen to you,
14:56that someone in the litauic network has the opportunity to hear,
15:11running alongside Exercise Freedom Shield is the Bundeswehr's mission Vigilant Owl.
15:16Electronic warfare teams scan the electromagnetic spectrum,
15:19tracking signals from equipment and vehicles across the area.
15:23The data is then used to build a real-time picture of what's happening on the ground.
15:32We accompany one of those teams.
15:36One person is always used as an eye,
15:39who leads the view towards the ground, has the view towards the front,
15:42finds the goal, runs on, via card, compass, GPS,
15:45depending on what equipment we have.
15:47Then he goes to the security.
15:52The second soldier can start to build the sensor,
15:56make everything ready, and then back again.
16:01The team is constantly moving its sensors from one position to the next.
16:07Back at the vehicle, we ask how the system has performed in the field.
16:13This is the first mission, where we can use the sensor sharp on the live signal.
16:17And how was it?
16:18We could deliver good results.
16:20Generally, we could practice very well here,
16:24and also deliver information to the attack,
16:27and also deliver a picture.
16:33But the Bundeswehr isn't the only one gathering intelligence,
16:36Lieutenant Colonel Moritz Kaselow tells us.
16:39The exercise in Parbrade has not gone unnoticed across the border in Belarus.
17:04Using a terrain model, he explains the current situation.
17:07It shows where units are deployed along the border and how their roles fit together.
17:12Not every threat on the battlefield is visible.
17:15We have the task with the Vigilant UL here in the area,
17:19to clear the jeweiligen signals in the electromagnetic spectrum
17:23and in the end of the day a warning function.
17:25One is for the forces,
17:27which are currently used here in the Panzer Brigade 45,
17:30and one is for other workers,
17:31and of course also for our partners,
17:33the litauic forces here at the moment.
17:35We are the ones,
17:36who should confirm the changes in the electromagnetic environment.
17:39And that means,
17:40ten days before the other forces were here,
17:43we were here at the moment,
17:44and we will stay here even more longer.
17:46Before the forces are here from Lithuania,
17:48we will stay here at the moment,
17:49and we will see if there will be changes in the future.
17:54Russia's war against Ukraine has shown just how important
17:56the electromagnetic spectrum has become in modern warfare.
18:01Military planners now talk about a transparent battlefield,
18:05one where drones, sensors and electronic surveillance
18:07make it increasingly difficult to move without being detected.
18:25This is where electronic warfare comes in.
18:28By detecting and analyzing signals,
18:30it builds a real-time picture of the battlefield.
18:36What appears in the electromagnetic spectrum
18:38can quickly become a threat on the ground.
18:41Whether it's a drone or an enemy unit.
18:44And throughout the Exercise Freedom Shield,
18:46drones are never far away.
18:56The special part of this exercise was,
18:58that we have the drones much more used to use.
19:01That the drones here were really, I say,
19:05in the background gestellt.
19:08Whether it's information,
19:09whether it's information,
19:10whether it's information,
19:10whether it's information,
19:12that's what lets me know.
19:23The war in Ukraine has shown just how important it is
19:26to protect military vehicles from drones.
19:29Cheap to produce,
19:30but capable of causing serious damage,
19:32drones have changed the battlefield.
19:34For Exercise Freedomannée shield,
19:35the soldiers developed an additional layer of protection
19:37against attacks from above.
19:41We have received four months in Germany the Auftrag of our company.
19:46We should have a concept about how we can do it.
19:52We had several possibilities.
19:54I developed a concept for the room.
19:57This is the room where all of us are going to go and gather for the night.
20:02I bought a pair of angles.
20:04This is a little provisorical.
20:06It is built here in the middle, pulled up.
20:08There is a huge network of 15 x 16 meters.
20:12The whole ship is protected against drones.
20:15The ship can sleep or sleep.
20:18By the time we arrived, the drone cage fitted onto Kevin's tank had already been removed.
20:26But Staff Sergeant Markus from the Lithuanian Brigade Signals Company shows us a similar system.
20:32He designed a drone cage for the Fuchs armored personnel carrier.
20:36I saw a lot of videos from the Ukraine.
20:39I thought how we could protect our vehicles against these threats.
20:44They bring the drones with us.
20:47And then the idea came to concept such a cage.
20:50We have also been driving a test drive.
20:54We found one or two weak points.
20:57Now we have done it again.
20:58In the context of the prototype, we have done it with a spearhead.
21:02We have done it with a more stable blade.
21:06But if you build it more stable and develop it,
21:11you can also help against such a Shahid.
21:13At least, that the ship is unable to get out of the number.
21:19During the around six weeks exercise,
21:21the soldiers weren't just defending themselves against drones.
21:24They were also using them.
21:26Yeah, I did it too.
21:27I was in my commandant's room and was spending it on the ground.
21:33I had to get the drone and took it off and took it off.
21:37And then I had to get the drone from the edge.
21:38Then they were killed with a steel weapon.
21:40So, did they have flown before a drone?
21:42Or did it first?
21:43No.
21:43Learning by doing.
22:07With the Lithuanian Brigade, Germany is placing its faith in heavy armour.
22:12The aim is to deter Russia and, if necessary, help defend Lithuania alongside its NATO allies.
22:19But on the drive back to Vilnius, one question stayed with us.
22:22In the age of drones, is heavy armour still fit for purpose?
22:30Do you think that Brigade needs more drones to protect Lithuania or to deter Russia?
22:37Or is the focus on tanks still adequate? I mean, it's a battle tank brigade.
22:44I see drones not come and not occupy the country.
22:49But it can be used as very good offensive means but also in defensive matters.
23:00For now, Kevin and Rogi's deployment to Lithuania is over.
23:04Tank Battalion 203 is heading back to Germany.
23:08The tank crews, the signal soldiers, the electronic warfare teams, the mechanised infantrymen from Oberviechtag.
23:19They all have the same mission.
23:21To be ready for war in the hope that they never have to fight one.
23:26To be ready for war.
23:32Oh, my God!
23:37I do know a moment.