Search underway to find four US soldiers missing in Lithuania

The U.S. Army stated that four American soldiers went missing during a training mission in Lithuania near the Belarusian border, and hundreds of soldiers and emergency responders are urgently searching for them. This occurred after their armored vehicle was found submerged in the water.

The Lithuanian Armed Forces said in a statement that the soldiers were reported missing on Tuesday in a training area near Pabrade. According to the U.S. Army, members of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division were conducting a planned training mission to recover another U.S. vehicle at the time.

U.S. and Lithuanian soldiers, law enforcement personnel, and Lithuanian military helicopters and diving teams participated in the search and rescue operation, which continued "uninterrupted" until Thursday, the U.S. Army said. Ground search teams traversed dense forests and swampy terrain, which "complicated rescue efforts."

Previously, U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command confirmed that the M88 armored vehicle operated by the soldiers was found in the training area. "After a search by the U.S. Army, the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and other Lithuanian authorities, the vehicle was found submerged in a body of water in a training area," a statement said. "The U.S. Army and the Lithuanian Armed Forces, along with civil agencies, are conducting rescue efforts. The search for the soldiers continues."

The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence posted on X on Thursday that emergency responders were excavating a swamp, which had been drained after the vehicle was found approximately five meters underwater. The U.S. Army stated that engineers built berms—raised strips of land—to help control the surrounding water, which could be pumped out to allow emergency responders on site to access the vehicle.

As of Thursday, the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence stated that "there is no evidence or information to confirm any casualties." The ministry said in an update posted on X later on Thursday that the search and rescue efforts would "continue overnight." When asked by reporters on Wednesday whether he had been briefed on the missing soldiers, U.S. President Donald Trump said, "No, I have not."

U.S. Army Major General Curtis Taylor insisted that the search and rescue teams "will not stop" until the soldiers are found. "This tragedy weighs heavily on us all, and we keep the families, friends, and teammates of our soldiers and the rescue teams in our thoughts," said the commander of the 1st Armored Division.

The United States has maintained a military presence in Eastern Europe and the Baltic region since Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014, under the codename "Operation Atlantic Resolve." Lithuania, a member of NATO and the EU, hosts hundreds of U.S. soldiers who are stationed there on a rotational basis.