Today, I observed “Thunder of Perkūnas 26”, the largest military exercise of the year.
During the exercise, the Lithuanian Armed Forces train to carry out tasks set out in national defense plans in coordination with NATO forces, the Ministry of the Interior, and other agencies.
Joint operations with NATO are a particularly important element of the exercise. We are not alone — the deployment of U.S. and German military units in Lithuania is clear evidence of that.
These joint exercises further strengthen our readiness to defend ourselves together, if necessary, and to protect the freedom and values we all share.