A German army convoy of 130 soldiers and 60 vehicles has arrived in Lithuania, delivering nearly half of planned reinforcements for a German-led NATO battlegroup amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said that in Brussels German Chancellor Olof Scholz assured him that German soldiers were authorized to fight for the defense of Lithuania.

“The German army is on our territory to defend us, and if there’s a threat to Lithuania, they are really ready to do their duty,” Reuters quoted Nausėda as saying.

The German reinforcement operation will last until the end of the week, adding more than 350 soldiers and 100 vehicles to German forces in Lithuania, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel André, commander of the Enhanced Forward Presence Combat Team, said.

The UK has said it will double its force in neighboring Estonia, where it leads a similar NATO battlegroup.