Bundeswehr an der Ostflanke: Leopard-Kampfpanzer auf NATO-Mission | Die Story | Kontrovers | BR24

Around 300 soldiers from Panzer Battalion 104 have set out from Pfreimd in Upper Palatinate to Lithuania – with 16 tanks. In Lithuania, the battalion will form an important part of a multinational NATO battle group. German soldiers currently rotate in Lithuania every few months. But this is about to change fundamentally. Bundeswehr soldiers are to be stationed here permanently. This has never happened abroad before. The first ones have already left. For the unit in Pfreimd, history seems to be repeating itself. Pfreimd was already a garrison town in the 1970s. During the Cold War, a potential area of ​​operations was practically on its doorstep. The stationing close to the Bavarian-Czech border was intended to serve as a deterrent and, according to NATO, help prevent war. The soldiers from Pfreimd play a similar role today. However, the border of NATO territory is no longer in the immediate vicinity of German barracks, but many hundreds of kilometers to the east. Hence the marching order to Rukla in Lithuania. The country borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus, whose government is loyal to Putin. The Baltic states fear an attack from there in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Controversial - The Story followed the soldiers from Germany to Lithuania. Author: Kilian Neuwert "The Story" - our weekly documentary and reportage format from the Controversial editorial team of Bayerischer Rundfunk. Every Wednesday at 4 p.m. on this channel. Click here for the playlist:    • "Kontrovers - Die Story"   Click here for our BR24 website: http://www.BR24.de BR24 Facebook:   / br24   BR24 Twitter:   / br24   BR24 Instagram:   / br24   Kontrovers online: http://www.br.de/kontrovers You can also find more Kontrovers articles in the ARD Mediathek: https://1.ard.de/Kontrovers #kontrovers #story #bundeswehr