NATO claims four US soldiers have been killed in Lithuania after disappearing from training mission

UPDATE: Nato has since clarified comments made by Mark Rutte, saying that the search for the missing soldiers is still 'ongoing'.

"The search is ongoing," NATO wrote on X. "We regret any confusion about remarks @SecGenNATO delivered on this today. He was referring to emerging news reports & was not confirming the fate of the missing, which is still unknown."

NATO secretary general Mark Rutte has claimed the four US soldiers who disappeared while on a training mission in Lithuania have been killed.

Earlier today, the US embassy confirmed that four soldiers had been reported missing alongside their tank while conducting a training exercise near the Lithuanian town of Pabradė, which lies just six miles from the boarder with Russian allied Belarus.

Rutte has now confirmed that all four soldiers have died, telling reporters at the Warsaw School of Economics (via The Guardian): "Whilst I was speaking, the news came out about four American soldiers who were killed in an incident in Lithuania."

NATO secretary general Mark Rutte confirmed that the soldiers had died (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Rutte went on to add that specific details about the deaths of the military personnel were still being investigated.

"That’s still early news, so we do not know the details, but obviously this is really terrible news, and our thoughts are with families and loved ones," he continued.

"I sent a message to the American secretary of defence Pete Hegseth that, of course, our thoughts and prayers are with the families and with the United States."

Rutte went on to stress the importance of NATO co-operation between the US and European nations, adding: "Let me be absolutely clear: this is not the time to go it alone, not for Europe or North America.

"The global security challenges are too great for any of us to face on our own."

News of the four soldiers' disappearance was confirmed by the US embassy earlier today (26 March) with the following statement on X: "The soldiers, all from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, were conducting scheduled tactical training at the time of the incident.

"Search and recovery efforts are underway."

The four soldiers disappeared conducting a training exercise near the Lithuanian town of Pabradė, which lies just six miles from the boarder with Belarus (Getty Stock Images)

The four soldiers and a vehicle were first reported missing on Tuesday (25 March), according to Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT (via The Independent), and that a search and rescue mission was underway.

Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, the V Corps commanding general praised Lithuania for their speedy response to the situation.

"I would like to personally thank the Lithuanian Armed Forces and first responders who quickly came to our aid in our search operations," he said.

"It’s this kind of teamwork and support that exemplifies the importance of our partnership and our humanity regardless of what flags we wear on our shoulders."

The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are all members of NATO, having joined the organisation in 2004.

All three nations share a boarder with either Russia or Belarus and were previously members of the Soviet Union until 1991.