Four American soldiers went missing on Tuesday afternoon during exercises at the Lithuanian camp in Podbrod, close the border with Belarus. Lithuanian and abroad military, as well as helicopters of the Air Force and the State Border defender of Lithuania, were sent to the search action.
On Wednesday, Lithuanian news portals — without mention to authoritative sources — reported missing soldiers were dead and their caterpillar vehicle was found in the swamps.
Mark Rutte confirms the tragic findings. "An awful information"
He referred to the case on Wednesday during a gathering with journalists in Warsaw Rutte. As he said, he received information about "four American soldiers who died as a consequence of an incidental in Lithuania".
— We do not know the details yet, but this is terrible information," said Rutte, at the same time expressing his sympathy to his close soldiers; he added that he besides sent appropriate news to American Secretary of defence Pete Hegseth.
Information about the incidental was confirmed by the U.S. Army Command in Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF), which reported that the search was conducted by the US and Lithuanian armed forces, as well as law enforcement authorities from Lithuania and another institutions from that country.
‘Soldiers belonging to the 1st Brigade 3. The Infantry Division conducted scheduled tactical exercises at the time of the incident," says USAREUR-AF statement.
The Lithuanians distance themselves from reports of military deaths. "Four U.S. soldiers and 1 caterpillar vehicle went missing during training at a training ground in Lithuania. At the moment, there is no evidence or information to support the deaths of soldiers. Intensified rescue efforts are underway,” the Lithuanian Armed Forces reported.
The polygon in Podbrodzi is about 15-20 km from the border with Belarus.
