Four American soldiers confirmed dead after going missing near Russian ally

Details have emerged surrounding the deaths of four US Army soldiers in Lithuania after they disappeared from a training site near the border.

Four US Army soldiers have died in Lithuania after they disappeared on a training site while on manoeuvres just miles from the border, NATO’s Secretary-general Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.

The four soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, were last seen alive on Tuesday riding an armoured vehicle during tactical training exercises at a military site near the city of Pabrade, in eastern Lithuania.

The base is about six miles from the border with Belarus — a staunch Russian ally, and comes at a time of ratcheting tensions in the region.

Lithuania’s military has not confirmed the exact details of what happened, but local media reports that the four may have drowned after their M88A2 Hercules armoured vehicle became trapped in swampy terrain.

A map of where the soldiers went missing in Pabrade, Lithuania. Donna Grace/NY Post Design

Rutte said he had received word of the deaths of the four soldiers and extended his thoughts and prayers to their families and the United States.

“This is still early news so we do not know the details,” he told reporters while on a visit to Poland’s capital Warsaw.

“This is really terrible news and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones.”

Last week, Lithuania announced it was mining its borders with Russia and Belarus, joining its neighbour Poland in stepping up its defences in the face of the ongoing war in Ukraine and fears of Russian incursion into NATO territory.

The US Army has not yet released any statement on the soldiers’ deaths, but earlier expressed thanks to Lithuania’s armed forces for helping with the search and rescue mission.

“I would like to personally thank the Lithuanian Armed Forces and first responders who quickly came to our aid in our search operations,” Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, V Corps commanding general, said in a statement.

“It’s this kind of teamwork and support that exemplifies the importance of our partnership and our humanity regardless of what flags we wear on our shoulders.”

Four American soldiers (not pictured) are dead after going missing in Lithuania. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The 1st Armored Brigade was one of the earliest units deployed to NATO’s eastern flank in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The unit returned to Europe in January to start another nine-month rotation, reports Stars and Stripes.

Units within the brigade train in difficult, often-boggy conditions in Lithuania, Poland, and other parts of the Baltic countries.

The four soldiers were travelling in an M88A2 Armored-Recovery Vehicle when they disappeared at around 7pm local time on Tuesday, according to Lithuanian media reports.

A major search and rescue operation was deployed involving troops from Lithuania and other NATO nations, as well as Lithuanian air force helicopters and the country’s State Border Guard Service, Lithuanian outlet Delfi reported.

The operation, with help from Lithuania’s Fire Protection and Rescue Department, had narrowed the search down to a possible location as of Wednesday, according to a press release from the Lithuanian military.

US President Donald Trump hosted NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House earlier this month. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)

“The possible location of the incident has been identified, and search and rescue is underway,” Lithuanian military spokesman Major Gintautas Ciunis told Elta.

Lithuania’s armed forces are yet to confirm the deaths but issued a statement thanking the US for its support in the region.

“We truly appreciate and are grateful for the US presence here. We have created all the conditions for them to increase their military readiness,” Giedrimas Jeglinskas, chairman of Lithuania’s National Security and Defense Committee, said in a statement.

“Such events do indeed occur during large-scale joint military exercises, not only among the Americans, but also in other armies. The aim is to reduce the likelihood of such things, but such things are not impossible. If there was some kind of accident, lessons are learned, and safety requirements are increased,” he went on.

Roughly 16,000 US troops are currently deployed in the Baltic region, including 14,000 in Poland, 1,000 in Lithuania, and 700 in Estonia, according to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission

Originally published as Four American soldiers confirmed dead after going missing near Russian ally