Thousands of Lithuanians paid tribute this week to four American soldiers killed during training exercises while serving in the Baltic country. Crowds lined the streets of Vilnius as hearses carrying the bodies of the fallen soldiers made their way to the Lithuanian capital's main cathedral for a memorial service before being sent to the United States.
The American servicemen had gone missing a week earlier during a training exercise at a Lithuanian military facility near the border with Belarus. This led to the largest search operation in Lithuania’s modern history in the surrounding forests and marshes, with military and civilian teams joined by colleagues from Poland, Germany and Estonia. Tragically, the four missing American soldiers were eventually found submerged in a peat bog along with their vehicle.
About 1,000 American troops have been based at Camp Herkus in Lithuania since 2021. Their presence is part of NATO's Operation Atlantic Resolve, which involves rotating deployments of troops from member states as part of the alliance's strategy to deter its eastern flank.
The recent deaths of four American soldiers have shocked and saddened the Lithuanian public, highlighting the country’s ties to the United States. For several days, the search for the missing soldiers has engulfed the country of nearly three million. “For us, this is more than a duty, it is an emotion. We have lived through trials in our history, so we understand well what loss is, what death is, what an honorable duty is,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said during events in Vilnius to honor the fallen soldiers.
The tragedy served to highlight the importance of NATO’s troop presence in Lithuania at a time when Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has heightened concerns in the region about the threat posed by a resurgent Russia. With the Trump administration now discussing plans to scale back U.S. commitments to European security and focus more on Asia, there are concerns in Lithuania and other frontline NATO members that Russia could seek to exploit any weakening of resolve within the alliance.
In March, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys traveled to Washington along with his Estonian and Latvian counterparts to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and seek assurances of the United States’ continued commitment to Baltic security. “The Baltic states are very skeptical about Russia’s intentions. Our intelligence assessments clearly show that Russia and its instruments of power are bent on war, not peace,” commented Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze while in the US.
Lithuania is currently preparing for a sharp increase in military spending as the country responds to Russia’s expansionist agenda and the apparent imperial ambitions of Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin. In January 2025, Lithuanian officials unveiled plans to increase the defense budget from just over three percent to five to six percent starting next year. The increase comes as the Trump White House calls for NATO members to go beyond the current two percent of GDP guidelines and spend significantly more on national security.
Amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty, recent tragic events involving U.S. troops stationed in Lithuania have helped bring the two countries together. “We cannot thank enough our allies and comrades, especially the Lithuanians, who have given generously of their resources to support this mission,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of the U.S. 1st Armored Division, after the tragedy. “Together, we have fulfilled our promise to never abandon our fallen comrades.”
Agnia Grigas is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and the author of Beyond Crimea: The New Russian Empire and other books.
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