A macabre discovery. Four soldiers of the American army were found dead in Lithuania, less than ten kilometers from the country’s border with Belarus, announced the secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte, on March 26. According to various local media, the armored vehicle of these soldiers was trapped in swampy land during a maneuver.
The four soldiers participated in a tactical exercise on the Pabradė training ground in the east of the country. Their disappearance had been reported earlier in the afternoon this Wednesday. According to an American leader, quoted by politico, the drama would have taken place after a “Training accident”. The identity of the victims was not disclosed at this stage. The command of the American army in Europe, based in Wiesbaden (Germany), confirmed that the soldiers participated well in planned training.
“Terrible news”
On the move in Poland this Wednesday, Mark Rutte did not fail to react. “This is terrible news. Our thoughts go to families and loved ones ”, said the NATO boss who, during a press conference on the same day, had promised a response “Devastating” in the event of an attack on a member country of the organization.
The exercise area where the soldiers’ bodies were found is in a sensitive geopolitical region. Border of Russia and Belarus, Lithuania (member of NATO since 2004) has strengthened its military cooperation with the United States and its allies since the Russian invasion in Ukraine in 2022. It thus frequently welcomed American troops in the context of defensive rotations organized on the eastern flank of the Atlantic alliance.
