A task force of several dozen soldiers with heavy equipment, as well as divers, is urgently heading to Lithuania to help locate the missing American soldiers there and to recover their combat vehicle, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced.
Four American soldiers went missing on Tuesday afternoon during exercises at the Lithuanian military range in Pabradė, not far from the Belarusian border. Lithuanian and foreign military personnel, along with helicopters from the Lithuanian Air Force and the State Border Guard Service, were deployed for the search and rescue operation. On Thursday, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Szakaliene reported that the bodies of the four soldiers had not been found, and their deaths—contrary to Wednesday’s media reports—were not confirmed.
Also on Thursday, the Polish defense minister announced the deployment of Polish soldiers to Lithuania to assist in the search. “A task force of several dozen soldiers with heavy equipment and divers is urgently heading to Lithuania to help find the American soldiers and recover the combat vehicle,” Kosiniak-Kamysz stated in a post on the X platform.
“We are responding to our allies’ request,” he added.
Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, Gen. Wiesław Kukuła, wrote on the X platform: “We have offered our support and will assist our allies in this extremely challenging search-and-rescue operation. We know the soldiers of this unit very well. On many occasions, they have trained side by side with us, including in the defense of our own country.”
Later, the spokesperson for the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, Col. Joanna Klejszmit, stated that around 30 soldiers with 15 pieces of equipment—including technical support vehicles—will likely depart for Lithuania on Thursday evening. She added that these troops are being sent from the 16th Pomeranian Mechanized Division.
Disappearance of American Soldiers
The U.S. Army announced on Wednesday that the armored Hercules vehicle, in which four U.S. soldiers were traveling during exercises at the Pabradė range in Lithuania, was found submerged in a body of water. They assured that the U.S. Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces, and civilian agencies are conducting rescue operations.
On Wednesday, Lithuanian news portals—without citing official sources—reported that the missing soldiers were dead and that their tracked vehicle, submerged in water, was found in a swamp.
The Pabradė range is located approximately 15–20 kilometers from the Belarusian border. About 1,000 U.S. soldiers, forming two battalions, are stationed there. They have been deployed on a rotational basis since 2019, mainly consisting of armored units.