Friedrich Merz della Germania si impegna a difendere “ogni centimetro” del territorio della NATO

Friedrich Merz promised to help defend “every inch” of Nato territory as he joined the inauguration of the first German military brigade to be permanently stationed on foreign soil since the second world war. The new German chancellor declared that “the security of our Baltic allies is also our security” as he attended a military parade in Vilnius to honour the German army’s new 45th armoured brigade based in Lithuania. The deployment was decided in 2023 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which amplified fears in the three former Soviet republics that they could be next. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda described the brigade as “historic”, adding: “This is a day of trust, responsibility and action.” The deployment still numbers only about 400 soldiers. It will not achieve its full 5,000-strong capacity until 2027 — a timeline that reflects the scale of the challenge for the German armed forces as well as for their Lithuanian hosts. Europe’s largest nation sees the multibillion-euro commitment to station a permanent brigade in the small Baltic nation as an important part of the Zeitenwende — or sea change — in its role in the continent’s defence after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That shift was announced by then chancellor Olaf Scholz, who also created a €100bn special fund to overhaul the German armed forces, which had suffered from decades of under-investment. But Merz, who took office this month, has vowed to go further as he has cast himself as a staunch supporter of Ukraine and of Nato. The new chancellor has pledged to make the German military the strongest conventional army in Europe, amended the nation’s strict borrowing rules to allow unlimited spending on defence, and indicated he backed Nato’s new spending target of up to 5 per cent of GDP.

The Lithuanian brigade has been spearheaded by German defence minister Boris Pistorius, the only minister from the last government to remain in post. He announced the plan in 2023 as Nato beefed up its presence on the eastern flank in response to the Ukraine conflict. Germany expects to spend €4bn to €6bn on weapons to equip the brigade, with running costs of about €1bn a year once it reaches full strength. Lithuania, a country of 3mn people, shares a border on its west with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and on its east with Belarus, a Moscow ally in the war. **Its 100km border with Poland, known as the Suwalki Gap, is the only land link between the Baltic states and the rest of Europe and is viewed as a critical possible weak point in the event of a Russian attack**.

Which nato territory in under attack?

A German pledging to defend *every inch* of foreign territory. Now that’s what I call character development

People in Germany hate Merz but his foreign policy is incredibly based, it’s one of the most pro-EU/NATO chancellors we’ve had for many years.

Did he really say inch?