Belarus Tanks in the mud - search continues for US soldiers in Lithuania
The search for four missing US soldiers continues in Lithuania. "All scenarios are still being examined," said Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene at the Pabrade military training area, denying reports of the soldiers' deaths.
27.03.2025, 10:18
SDA
"There is currently no confirmed information and no bodies have been found. Therefore, it would simply be wrong to claim that the soldiers are dead."
The four US soldiers could no longer be found after an exercise and have been missing since Tuesday afternoon. The Lithuanian military and police had therefore launched a search operation together with the US military, during which their armored vehicle - an M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle - was found in a body of water on the training ground. Pabrade is located directly on NATO's eastern flank with Belarus.
Sakaliene: Tank stuck about five meters deep in mud
According to Sakaliene, the military vehicle weighing several tons is stuck about five meters deep in the mud. "We can't confirm whether there are soldiers in the vehicle," said the minister, who, like Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, made her way to the training ground located a good 50 kilometers northeast of the capital Vilnius. "Until we see the vehicle, all scenarios are considered possible."
According to reports in the Lithuanian media, the soldiers were killed in an accident. There was initially no official confirmation of this. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on Platform X that the four soldiers were missing. They would not rest until they were found.
Lithuanian army chief Raimundas Vaiksnoras said that the search and rescue operation was technically very complex and was taking place in a swampy area that was still being drained. The vehicle had sunk so deep that it could not even be reached with metal rods. There was also a gas pipeline running next to the water, he said.
Rutte causes confusion
In the meantime, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte caused confusion with statements made during a visit to Poland, according to which the four US soldiers were killed. A Nato spokeswoman later corrected this and wrote on the X platform that Rutte's statements referred to new news reports and not to the still unconfirmed fate of the missing soldiers.
According to the US Army's European Command Center in Wiesbaden, the soldiers belong to an infantry brigade and were conducting planned tactical training at the time of their disappearance. The USA has been deploying units for maneuvers to the Baltic state of Lithuania and the eastern NATO border on a rotational basis since 2014. According to Lithuanian information, a US battalion is currently stationed in Pabrade.
