- Four U.S. soldiers have been reported missing in the Lithuanian camp in Podbrod during training, an intensive search involving global forces is underway.
- Gen. Leon Komornicki does not regulation out that American soldiers whose vehicle is stuck in a swamped area can inactive live
- Poland sent to Lithuania a task force with divers and dense equipment to assist in searching and extracting the vehicle
- More crucial information can be found on the Onetu homepage
Four U.S. soldiers were lost on Tuesday afternoon during training at a training ground 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 directed to search and rescue operations. Lithuania's defence minister Dovile Shakaliene reported that missing soldiers had not yet been found, and their death — contrary to media reports from Wednesday — was not confirmed.
— It cannot be excluded that these soldiers died in this large-scale and heavy-weight evacuation tractor: over 60 tons. We bought more than 30 of these tractors. These are tractors for evacuation of Abrams tanks, among others. It's a riding field workshop. By the strength of things, if this tractor was found in a swamped space, its drowning did not happen violently. It was a long-term process, so the crew could have evacuated, and they could have run out of oxygen. — said Gen. Leon Komornicki, who hosted the RMF FM on Saturday.
“These soldiers can inactive live”
Former Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Polish Army stressed that discussions on what truly happened to American soldiers were speculations for now.
— They can inactive live if there was an airbag and they had water and food supplies with them, while evacuation is highly difficult. On the another hand, it may be a conscious abandonment of equipment. Consciously reaching the swamped area, where there is limited cellular communications, limited coverage. This vehicle slow sank into the swamp, and at that time they committed a criminal act, which is desertion. This, too, may have occurred, and this cannot be ruled out either, indicated Gen. Komornicki.
Urgent departure of Polish soldiers to Lithuania
On Thursday, the national defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz reported that a peculiar task force of respective twelve soldiers with dense equipment and divers went to Lithuania as a substance of urgency.
They're going to Lithuania to aid find American soldiers and extract the combat car. We answer the request of our allies“ On the X portal, the national defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamish wrote.
The polygon in Podbrodzi is about 15-20 km from the border with Belarus. He's stationed there. About 1,000 American soldiers, forming 2 battalions. They have been present there since 2019 on rotation rules, mainly as part of armored brigades.
