Lithuania’s Chief of Defence Valdemaras Rupšys said that the military parade should send a message of deterrence to the enemy, showing that “we are strong, we are united, and NATO is strong”.
“First, we are sending a message of security to the people – they are safe. Let’s build houses, let’s have children, let’s have big families, let’s live in joy, let’s have students studying, let’s have schoolchildren being happy and calm, and let’s know that we, as Armed Forces, as soldiers, as allies, are committed to the defence of our country,” Rupšys told journalists on the eve of the parade.
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The parade involved more than 1 400 Lithuanian and allied troops, including members of the Canadian-led Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup deployed in Latvia and the NATO Multinational Corps Northeast Headquarters Flag Group.
More than 100 pieces of military equipment were also on display, including Lithuanian infantry fighting vehicles Vilkas (Wolf), self-propelled howitzers PzH 2000, air defence systems NASAMS, armoured all-terrain vehicles JLTV, American Abrams tanks, German Leopard tanks, and others.
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