4 US soldiers go missing while training in Lithuania, 6 miles from Belarus border

Four US Army soldiers have gone missing at a training area outside of Lithuania’s capital, and a search is underway, the US military says.

A statement from US Army Europe and Africa public affairs in Wiesbaden, Germany, says the soldiers were conducting scheduled tactical training at the time.

It says further information will be provided as new information becomes available.

Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reports that four US soldiers and a vehicle were reported missing yesterday afternoon during an exercise at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground in Pabradė, a town located less than six miles (10 kilometers) from the border with Belarus.

The Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are all NATO members and have often had chilly ties with Russia, a key ally of Belarus, since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.

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.