Four U.S. Army soldiers who went missing while training in Lithuania have died, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Wednesday.
While on his way to Warsaw, Rutte mentioned that he was informed about the tragic deaths of four soldiers and conveyed his sympathy to their families and to the United States.
Speaking to reporters in Warsaw, Rutte expressed the shock of the news and extended his thoughts and prayers to the families and friends affected by the loss.
Details surrounding the incident were scarce, with U.S. officials providing limited information. A U.S. official, speaking on anonymity, revealed that the soldiers were part of a training accident but did not disclose further details or the condition of the soldiers involved.
Lithuania, a member of NATO, has often had tense relations with Russia, a key ally of Belarus, since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. Latvia and Estonia, the other Baltic countries that broke away from the Soviet Union, have had similarly chilly ties with Russia.
Relations soured further over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has been one of the most outspoken supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
