On Wednesday 11 December 2024, Luxembourg's Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, together with the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Steve Thull, travelled to Lithuania to meet with members of the Luxembourg contingent of NATO Forward Land Forces in Rukla.

Both were dressed in military fatigues; they were greeted by Luxembourg ambassador to Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, Paul Schmit, who is based in Warsaw, and Lithuania's minister-elect of Defence, Dovilė Šakalienė (she is expected to take up office on Thursday 12 December as part of the new, incoming government).

Background

This trip had originally been scheduled for July this year but had been postponed after the Minister tore ligaments in her foot and could not travel.

Luxembourg has a presence of six military personnel (it can be up to ten, on rotation) in the multinational NATO advance Battlegroup, a Readiness Action Plan (RAP) under German command, in Rukla, Lithuania. It has been active there since 2017 and it is responsible for transport operations and the personnel responsibilities include operational, administrative, logistic and medical.

Following a decision taken at the Madrid Summit in 2022, in November 2023, Luxembourg's participation was extended to 31 December 2025, reaffirming the engagement, solidarity and commitment of the Luxembourgish defence contingent. It is called the Enhanced Forward Presence Lithuania and dates back to a 2016 NATO decision to protect the Euro-Atlantic zone comprising the three Baltic states and Poland, in reaction to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Then, in 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, four additional advanced tactical Battlegroups were also decided, in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

The trip turned out to be not only an inspection by Luxembourg's Minister Backes, but also a morale booster as the Christmas holidays are almost upon us and most there will not get home for the holiday period.

Transport

Travel for the day trip was on an A400M military aircraft of the Belgian-Luxembourg unit, operated by the Luxembourg Armed Forces with the 1st Wing (Tenacity) - the first flight took place in October 2020 (see https://chronicle.lu/category/transport-logistics/34223-grand-duke-visits-a400m-military-aircraft-inaugural-flight-scheduled-for-this-morning). The cargo plane was surprisingly warm inside, with circa 50 seats along both sides of the cargo hold - all equipped with safety harnesses and even oxygen masks and life vests should a situation arise. The in-flight entertainment was what we made ourselves, although the in-flight catering was unexpectedly good; with the early morning 05:00 start most people took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep.

It took around two and a half hours each way (there is a one hour time difference), with a short drive from Kaunas airport (the only other plane there seems to be a Ryanair passenger plane) to the Rukla military base, a rural landscape passing through forests of mainly conifers and silver birch. The military base is home to 1,805 service personnel from Germany, Belgium, Czechia, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Norway (also with some Lithuanian personnel in administrative roles) of which Luxembourg's contingent currently numbers six.

Military Base

We were presented with an overview of the operations in Rukla and we were shown around much of the base facilities, apart from the residential barracks. The mess halls were very comfortable, one with dining tables at one end and armchairs and a large screen tv at the other, separated by a bar serving drinks and snacks. The second mess hall was equipped with darts, table tennis, pool, pinball, table football, etc.; and another, named the Hard Log Café, also had pool tables, dart board, etc., for soldiers' leisure time.

And the large dining hall served a large variety of food, with hot and cold starters, different main courses and also desserts, with healthy options including salads and fruit also plentiful.

Interestingly, there were six separate recycling containers which were being used.

Following the first of a number of photo opportunities and a presentation of gifts to all members of the Luxembourg contingent there by Minister Backes, details of the mission were presented. Four vehicles including a Boxer medical vehicle, a Leopard 2 tank and a reconnaissance vehicle (silent) were on display.

It was here that it was confirmed that the military personnel numbers on the base can increase significantly during Iron Wolf exercises (twice yearly) when extra staff are deployed there.

At a Press Point, Minister Backes spoke briefly and mentioned the Ramstein (US military ase in Germany) meeting next January and the planned meeting of German-speaking Defence Ministers in February at which she would be meeting her new Lithuanian counterpart.

Lithuania's incoming Minister of Defence, Dovilė Šakalienė, spoke in English and confirmed that this was her first official engagement, before being sworn in to office tomorrow (Thursday); in this context she assured that her country's political direction will not change. She added that it is very important to work together with Luxembourg, and she emphasised that many smaller countries working together have a stronger voice. On Russia, she said that it has "been trying to annihilate all the time" and concluded that "they are getting closer" with North Korea, Iran and also China.

Following lunch, the visit concluded with a guided visit of the military base by foot, during which many vehicles were seen, both in sheds/hangars as well as out and about on the roads; these included armoured vehicles, tanks and more.

The tour concluded with a presentation on a slight incline overlooking the new Permanent Logistics Support Area (200m x 500m) which is almost completed; it is intended primarily for maintenance and logistics, as well as to house a motor pool - the temporary such area one was built in 2017 and construction of the permanent one was started in 2022; the move will take two months, following which the previous area will be completely renovated to provide more modern accommodation barracks, etc. Another photo opportunity was taken beside a memorial which was erected after human bones (dating from World War II) were uncovered during excavations for the new facility.

Minister Backes

During the walk around the extensive facility, Minister Backes talked with Chronicle.lu and addressed both the importance of Luxembourg continuing to contribute to the NATO and UN forces, including supporting the NSPA in Capellen, as well as increasing defence spending (again) - she confirmed that the country has already tripled such spending in the last decade since Russia's annexation of Crimea - to 2% of GDP as per the government's plan as presented to the recent NATO summit. However, she explained, it is easier to spend money at home than abroad; she also said much of the defence budget has gone on/towards Ukraine.

The return trip saw us return to Findel in the early evening.