The fate of four US soldiers who went missing in Lithuania during a training exercise is "unknown," a NATO spokeswoman said, walking back Secretary-General Mark Rutte's comment about their alleged deaths.
Rutte told reporters in Warsaw on March 26 that he had received news about "four American soldiers who were killed in an incident in Lithuania."
But after Lithuanian authorities disputed Rutte's remark, NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart wrote on X that the search for the missing soldiers was "ongoing."
"We regret any confusion about remarks [by Rutte] delivered on this today. He was referring to emerging news reports & was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown," she wrote.
The soldiers in the M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle have been missing since the early hours of March 25 at the Pabrade training ground where US units have been rotating since 2019.
The US Army confirmed that the vehicle used by the four soldiers had been found submerged in water.
Search and recovery efforts involving hundreds of Lithuanian and US personnel with dozens of vehicles were continuing on March 27, with attempts to reach the area still under way.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that the vehicle was located at “more than 5 meters down,” and digging is under way to get to it.
She added during a visit to the site, that other potential whereabouts of the four US soldiers are also being checked and have not yet been ruled out by investigators.
The soldiers have already spent two months on deployment in Lithuania, and the Baltic country's army is in touch with their families.
“Our armed forces and rescue services are working around the clock,” she added in a social media post showing the scene.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X on March 27 that his country was sending dozens of troops and scuba divers and equipment to Lithuania to help with the search.
US Ambassador to Lithuania Kara C. McDonald also visited the site of the search operation, where she praised Vilnius's assistance in the search and that US authorities "will not rest until we find them."
Asked on the evening of March 26 by reporters if he had been briefed about the missing soldiers, US President Donald Trump said, “No, I haven’t.”
US Army Europe and Africa said in a statement earlier that the four soldiers were "conducting scheduled tactical training" when they went missing on March 25.
The Pabrade training ground is located in eastern Lithuania, roughly 10 kilometers from the border with Belarus.
In a statement on March 26, the Lithuanian Army said the disappearance of the servicemen was reported at 4:45 p.m. local time on March 25, with official notification reaching Vilnius authorities by 7:20 p.m.
