Lithuania’s president said he is “still hoping for a miracle” as troops and emergency workers continue to search for four U.S. soldiers who went missing in his country.
The operation, which involves local and American personnel as well as Polish forces who have been sent to help, is focused on the recovery of the soldiers’ armored vehicle, which has been found submerged in a deep swamp.
It is unclear whether the missing soldiers, who disappeared on Tuesday, are inside.
Visiting the site at the Pabradė military training area on Friday morning, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said that various institutions and countries were “working hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder”.
“I am still hoping for a miracle, although many skeptics would probably say that there is nothing to hope for in these circumstances, I want to hope,” he said, cited by public broadcaster LRT.
“Minutes like this, circumstances like this, perhaps only confirm how strong we are when we are together, when we are in the NATO alliance, when we feel the shoulder of our friends.”
Efforts so far have concentrated on draining water that keeps flooding the peat bog where the M88 Hercules vehicle has been located. Officials say it has to be pulled out of the water before it can be safely inspected.
The U.S. ambassador to Lithuania told reporters at the scene that American engineers had arrived on Thursday, with navy divers set to reach the site on Friday. More U.S. troops were also on their way, Kara McDonald said.
Lithuania’s defense minister lauded Poland’s readiness to help, after Warsaw announced on Thursday it was sending dozens of soldiers, heavy equipment, and scuba divers to the site.
“It is, above all, a friendly gesture of solidarity, support, our coexistence, which shows that we are not alone, that we care about each other and can count on each other,” Dovilė Šakalienė said.
The Pabradė base houses two U.S. battalions totaling around 1,000 troops stationed there on a rotational basis since 2019.
