Soldiers and military equipment of the Croatian Army departed the Knin Railway Station on 6th January. The contingent is heading to Lithuania, where it will station as part of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battle Group in Rukla. The contingent is composed 188 soldiers, most of which serve in the 3rd Mechanized Battalion (3. mehanizirane bojne ‘Pauci’) stationed in Knin.
Croatian contingent in Lithuania will be composed of, among others, 15 Patria AMV 8×8 armoured vehicles, including 13 combat vehicles, one ambulance and one recovery vehicle / Pictures: Croatian MoD
The contingent is equipped with 15 Patria AMV 8×8 armoured vehicles, six utility trucks, two all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and one M-ATV vehicle. Its arrival in Lithuania is expected on 12th January.
‘We expect a professional development and cooperation with the multinational environment, strengthening the experience of being a soldier and getting to know the culture of Lithuania itself’, said sergeant Ante Dadić.
Deployment of Croatian troops and military equipment to Lithuania / Movie: Croatian MoD
Croatian soldiers are being deployed to Lithuania as part of NATO’s eFP BG for the second time. The first military contingent from Croatia stationed in this Baltic State from December 2017 to July 2018.
Since February 2017 Germany has been the leading nation of the NATO’s eFP Battalion in Rukla. Rotation of deployed troops takes place every six months. Since beginning of the mission approx. 8 000 soldiers from Belgium, Czech Republic, Iceland, Croatia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, France and Germany served in Lithuania.