On April 1 Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces Lt Gen Rajmund Andrzejczak and a delegation arrived in Lithuania for a formal visit at the invitation of the Chief of Defence of Lithuania. The visit supports military cooperation between Lithuania and Poland and security of the region.
On April 2 the guest was formally welcomed by the Ministry of National Defence, met with Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis, Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lt Gen Jonas Vytautas Žukas, and more representatives of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Formal meetings addressed the initiatives for strengthening security of NATO and the European Union, U.S. military presence in the region, assistance to Ukraine, joint military exercises, ensurement of regional air defence, military mobility, readiness of countries for collective defence, and development of the trilateral Lithuanian, Polish and Ukrainian Brigade.
Representatives of the Lithuanian Armed Forces briefed the guests on the process of defence planning priorities and plans of military capability development, and the National Defence Volunteer Force.
After the formal meetings Lithuanian and Polish Chiefs of Defence visited Antakalnis Cemetery where Lt Gen R. Andrzejczak laid flowers at the memorial for Lithuanian soldiers fallen for the motherland and at the memorial cross to Polish soldiers.
On April 3 Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces visited the Polish soldiers conducting the NATO Air Polishing Mission in the Baltic states in the Lithuanian Air Force Base in Šiauliai.
Four F-16 Fighting Falcons of the Polish Air Force have been in charge of the NATO air policing tasks conducted from the Lithuanian Air Force Base in Šiauliai since the beginning of this year. Poland is one of the most active participants of the mission - the current four-month rotation in Lithuania is already its 8th deployment. The country is planned to continue sending in capabilities next year as well.
Lt Gen R. Andrzejczak was appointed as the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces in mid-August 2018. This is his second visit to Lithuania in office. The first visit took place last November to celebrate the centenary of re-establishment of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Lithuania has been cooperating with Poland since 1993. Both countries are parts of the same region, therefore military cooperation is consistently strengthened in the context of increased risks from the East.
More about the Lithuanian-Polish defence cooperation
Some of the most recent instances of cooperation between Lithuania and Poland are two bilateral agreements signed by both Defence Ministers on February 21 earlier this year on affiliation of Lithuanian and Polish Armed Forces' brigades to the Multinational Division North-East HQ, and on the creation of a secure communication channel for radar surveillance data exchange. The latter will help strengthening defence of the whole region together with partners by developing a unified air defence system, while the affiliation of Lithuanian and Polish brigades to a NATO division headquarters will significantly improve both countries' readiness to act together if the Suwalki Gap is defended in case of a crisis or war and will improve NATO deterrence and defence in the eastern flank of the Alliance.
Formation of the aforementioned Multinational Divisional North-East HQ began in 2017. It coordinates conduct of joint military training and exercises and interoperability of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Groups in the Baltic states and Poland through national brigades at peacetime. Two Lithuanian officers have been serving at the headquarters of the Multinational Divisional North-East (MND NE ) in Elblag (Poland) since 2017.
Since 2003 Lithuania has been contributing to the activities of the top NATO unit in Poland - the Multinational Corps Northeast responsible for the security if the northeastern region of the Alliance. Eight Lithuanian officers have been serving it its headquarters in Szczecin since 2015.
Lithuania and Poland cooperate actively by sending soldiers to train in multinational exercises held in other's territories. Armed forces of Lithuania and Poland develop cooperation at various levels between its headquarters, training institutions and military units. Both countries also work together on military procurement, for instance, the Lithuanian Armed Forces bought GROM anti-aircraft defence systems from a Polish manufacturer through mediation of the Polish Armed Forces, the project is planned to be completed by 2021.
In terms of NATO assurance, Poland deployed two land force rotations to train in Lithuania in 2016.
The bilateral cooperation with Poland is developed in the framework of the European Union. Last November Poland joined the Lithuanian-initiated cyber response teams creation project.
In 2014 Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine established the LITPOLUKRBRIG trilateral brigade headquartered in Szczecin, Poland. The brigade was named after Great Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Konstantinas Ostrogiškis and Defence Ministers of the participating countries agreed that the brigade and its subunits would be deployed to multinational operations according to provisions and principles of the international law. Soldiers of the Grand Duchess Birutė Uhlan Battalion and five staff officers serve in LITPOLUKRBRIG on Lithuania's behalf, one of the latter is second-in-command of the Brigade.
Photo credits: Alfredas Pliadis
Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Maj Mindaugas Neimontas, +370 5 278 5091, +370 682 25359, [email protected]
