A NATO general’s comments on the disappearance of four US soldiers in Lithuania have caused confusion, with some interpreting his statement as the first official confirmation of the soldiers’ deaths. However, a NATO spokesperson later clarified that the general’s comments were based on new reports and not on the current status of the missing soldiers.
The four US soldiers were reported missing after an exercise and a joint search and rescue operation was launched by the Lithuanian military, police and US military. The armored vehicle, an M88 Hercules recovery tank, was found in a waterlogged area of the training ground, with the vehicle reportedly five meters deep in the mud.
Lithuania’s Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that all scenarios are possible until the vehicle is seen and that it is not possible to confirm if the soldiers are in the vehicle. The US Defense Minister Pete Hegseth tweeted that the four soldiers are missing and that efforts will not cease until they are found.
The search and rescue operation is a complex and technical one, taking place in a wetland area that is still being drained. The vehicle is so deep in the mud that it cannot even be reached with metal bars and a gas pipeline runs nearby, said the Lithuanian Army Chief Raimundas Vaiksnoras.
The operation’s leader, Ausrius Buikus, said that it is impossible to predict how long the search and rescue efforts will take, as the natural conditions in the training ground are extremely difficult. The main goal currently is to clear the mud so that divers can attach hooks to the heavy vehicle, he said.
According to the European Command of the US Army in Wiesbaden, the soldiers were part of an infantry brigade and were conducting a planned tactical training exercise when they went missing. The US has been rotating units for exercises in Lithuania and along the NATO eastern border since 2014, with a US battalion currently stationed in Pabrade.
The Lithuanian news portal LRT is following the search and rescue operation in a live ticker, with the latest reports indicating that the necessary engineering measures will continue into the night, with dams being built to enclose the area and allow for the excavation of the mud. Over 100 helpers and dozens of technical vehicles are involved in the operation.