“We don’t yet know the details, but this is clearly devastating news,” he told reporters, according to statements carried by international media.
Lithuanian authorities had earlier confirmed that four US soldiers and an armoured vehicle went missing during a scheduled tactical drill near the town of Pabradė on Tuesday. The area lies roughly 10 kilometres from the Belarusian border.
The troops were part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. They were participating in a planned NATO training operation when contact was lost.
Lithuania’s Ministry of Defence said the disappearance was reported Tuesday afternoon. Search and rescue efforts began shortly thereafter. By Wednesday evening, officials confirmed the area where the incident occurred had been located.
The cause of death remains unclear. Lithuanian national broadcaster LRT reported that the soldiers "may have died", citing defence sources. NATO later confirmed the fatalities, though full details remain undisclosed.
The US Embassy in Vilnius stated on social media platform X that the US military was cooperating with Lithuanian police and armed forces in the search operation. The embassy did not initially confirm the deaths but acknowledged the ongoing efforts.
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda declined to comment on the specifics of the case but confirmed he had been briefed on developments. Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas travelled to the site of the incident on Wednesday.
The missing vehicle was described as a tracked armoured vehicle, though no model was specified. Its current condition has not been reported.
NATO forces are regularly stationed in Lithuania as part of the alliance’s eastern deterrence measures. The Baltic state currently hosts more than 1,000 US troops.
Pabradė is a key training location for NATO exercises, situated close to the strategic Suwałki Gap — a narrow corridor between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, considered one of NATO’s most vulnerable points.
The US and NATO have not indicated whether the incident involved hostile action or equipment failure. Lithuania's Armed Forces have stated that a full investigation is underway.
This marks one of the most serious training-related incidents involving US forces in the region in recent years. NATO has not released the names of the deceased soldiers pending notification of next of kin.
HT