Around a hundred German soldiers arrived in Lithuania on Sunday after Germany pledged to increase its presence on NATO’s eastern flank following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The troops departed from the ferry in the port city of Klaipeda.

They were to form the commando unit of a new brigade, a group typically made up of around 4,000 soldiers.

“Our message to our allies here on the eastern flank is that we are committed to providing security,” said brigade commander Christian Nawrat.

The commando unit would stay permanently in the Baltic nation, while combat units would join them for drills, he added.

A senior Bundeswehr official said the first exercises could take place in October.

Germany, which leads a NATO battle group in Lithuania, already has around 1,500 German soldiers in Lithuania.

Formerly Soviet-ruled Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, all now EU and NATO members, fear they could be next if Russia defeats Ukraine.

Since the conflict began, they have called for more NATO troops and the creation of brigades to replace the current units.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in June that his country was ready to send more troops to Lithuania “towards a robust combat brigade that can be used both as a deterrent and to defend against aggression”.

NATO has strengthened its eastern flank in recent years, particularly since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

In 2017, four multinational battle groups were deployed to the three Baltic States and Poland.

After the start of the Russian invasion at the end of February, NATO decided to set up four new combat units in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.