Rescuers in Lithuania are working to recover the submerged vehicle of four U.S. Army soldiers who went missing during a training exercise. The soldiers disappeared while training with Lithuanian armed forces and law enforcement. The M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle was found more than 16 feet underground. Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas and Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė expressed support for the rescue operation. Šakalienė mentioned positive signs that give hope for a quicker scenario.
The U.S. Army, Lithuanian Armed Forces, and civilian agencies are conducting recovery efforts. President Donald Trump had not been briefed on the missing soldiers, and the NATO military alliance clarified that the soldiers’ fate is still unknown. Lithuania has been a NATO member since 2004 and has hosted American troops as part of the “Atlantic Resolve” operation in Eastern Europe. The country shares a border with Belarus, whose leader, Alexander Lukashenko, has been called “Europe’s last dictator” and is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. operation in Eastern Europe began after Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The ongoing search for the missing soldiers highlights the potential dangers faced by troops participating in military exercises in the region. The international cooperation among the U.S., Lithuania, and NATO demonstrates the efforts to locate and recover the soldiers and highlights the importance of military partnerships in the region.
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