BERLIN, December 26. /TASS/. The deployment of a Bundeswehr brigade to Lithuania will cause additional logistical problems for the German military, the inspector of the Army has warned.

In an official message to Carsten Breuer, the inspector-general of the Bundeswehr, General Alfons Mais says the country’s ground forces are understaffed.

The letter, seen by Der Spiegel magazine, boils down to the fact that the ground forces now have 60% of their standard personnel strength and gear, from artillery shells to tents.

"Creating a new brigade without additional investment would reduce this rate to 55%," General Mais writes.

"Unfortunately, I cannot but emphasize once again that the material resources of the army in relation to its tasks starting from 2025 are on the brink of what is acceptable and, despite all efforts, funding in the future will still be insufficient," General Mais notes.

The gradual arrival of German troops in Lithuania will begin next year. The brigade will be fully deployed by 2027. It is planned that it will have 4,800 troops and 200 support personnel.

Earlier, the German media repeatedly pointed to the difficulties on the way to achieving this target. On December 8, the Die Welt newspaper wrote that Germany lacked the financial resources, military equipment and personnel to implement the plans to deploy a brigade in Lithuania. The story also quoted a comment by German Colonel Andre Wuestner as saying that "everyone who has studied arithmetic knows that a combat brigade requires additional troops and materials. We cannot meet this need for now," Wuestner pointed out. The author of the article added on his own behalf that "a couple of hundred million euros" would not eliminate the shortfall.

On September 1, Der Spiegel said that representatives of the German Armed Forces at various levels were expressing doubts that the promises concerning the new contingent in Lithuania would be kept.

The magazine pointed out that since June, when the plans were announced, "not very much has happened."

For now, various departments of Germany’s Defense Ministry are merely compiling a list of outstanding issues without starting to address them. The authors listed the problems impeding the plans. In particular, the Bundeswehr has so far participated in contingents on a rotational basis, while in Lithuania’s case long-term presence is on the agenda. It would require an additional 4,600 seats at schools and childcare centers near the deployment site for the families of military personnel. Difficulties would arise in arranging for the relocation and remuneration of educators and teachers, who are already in short supply in Germany itself.