Four US soldiers who went missing in Lithuania have died, NATO leader says

A US official would say solely that the 4 troopers have been concerned in a coaching accident. The official, who spoke on situation of anonymity, wouldn’t touch upon the standing of the troopers.

Rutte stated throughout a visit to Warsaw that he had obtained phrase of the deaths of the 4 troopers and that his ideas have been with their households and with the US.

“That is nonetheless early information so we have no idea the main points. That is actually horrible information and our ideas are with the households and family members,” Rutte instructed reporters in Warsaw.

A press release from US Military Europe and Africa public affairs in Wiesbaden, Germany stated the troopers have been conducting scheduled tactical coaching on the time.

Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported that 4 US troopers and automobile have been reported lacking Tuesday afternoon throughout an train on the Basic Silvestras Žukauskas coaching floor in Pabradė, a city positioned lower than 10 kilometres from the border with Belarus.

The Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are all NATO members and have typically had chilly ties with Russia, a key ally of Belarus, since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.

Relations soured additional over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has been one of the outspoken supporters of Ukraine in its battle in opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces.