On NATO's front lines, a difference of opinion on how to best respond to Russia

With NATO pondering how to appropriately respond to Russia's mobilization along the Ukrainian border, a small element of possible deterrence arrived this week in Rukla, Lithuania.

Flatbed railcars, loaded with armoured infantry vehicles from Germany, were met by soldiers from the nearby NATO base, who promptly unloaded the noisy, tracked machines and drove them off in a convoy along the narrow, rural roads.

The vehicles and the troops that man them are replacing others returning to Germany, as one rotation ends and another begins — all part of a NATO strategy in the region known as Enhanced Forward Presence, which dates back to 2017.

In Lithuania, Germany is providing the core of the battle group for the alliance, explained commanding officer, German Lt.-Col. Hagen Ruppelt.

"We are here because the Lithuanian government and the Baltic states are perceiving a threat around them," he told CBC News during a visit to see a small part of the German operation.

Similar NATO bases are in place in Estonia and Latvia, led by British and Canadian commanders respectively — and all three with roughly 1,200 soldiers each.

As of late, the pressing political question for the 72-year-old NATO has been whether it urgently needs to further beef up its troops and equipment in the Baltic states that border Russia.

Or, alternatively, show a more restrained stance in the hopes of not provoking the Kremlin.

Tensions have soared in the region amid the buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine's border, prompting fears that an invasion could be on the horizon. Western military experts estimate there are already as many as 127,000 Russian troops near the border and tens of thousand more taking up positions inside Belarus, within 200 kilometers of Kyiv. 

WATCH | Germany holds off on additional support for Ukraine:

Russia denies having any such plans and insists it's just running military drills. It has also said its objective is to negotiate a security deal with the United States that would see foreign forces removed from the countries along its border, ensure Ukraine is off limits for NATO troops and provide a guarantee Ukraine would never be admitted to the alliance.

The U.S., Europe, and NATO have rejected Russia's demands but are offering a dialogue on a range of strategic issues. 

But while the U.S. and many NATO allies are stepping up their response plans in eastern Europe amid the standoff, Germany remains an outlier.

Germany has vast commercial interests with Russia and buys huge amounts of natural gas from the country, leading to accusations that its government is putting its commercial interests first.