On Friday, Lithuania's Minster of Defense Jonas Vytautas Zukas announced that his country is planning to acquire German-made Boxer infantry fighting vehicles amid concerns over Russia’s alleged involvement in Ukraine. Lithuania is planning to buy 88 armored fighting vehicles from German manufacturer Artec, German media reported.
The deal is expected to be the largest ever in Lithuania’s defense sector. The total cost of the contract has not been yet officially revealed, but according to various reports Lithuania is expecting to spend 400-500 million euros. The first vehicles are expected to arrive in Lithuania in 2017.
Lithuania is intending to increase its defense spending by more than a third amid "increasing concerns" over“Russia’sactivities” in Ukraine. In September, Lithuania signed a 16million euro deal with Germany to purchase self-propelled howitzers.
The West has repeatedly accused Russia of meddling in the Ukrainian conflict and “annexing Crimea.” Russia has rejected its involvement in the conflict and stressed that Crimea became part of the Russian Federation as a result of a public referendum.
