NATO clarifies Rutte’s statement on missing US soldiers in Lithuania: they are still being searched (updated)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that four American servicemen who were reported missing at a training range in Lithuania have been killed.
His words are reported by Reuters, Censor.NET informs.
"While I was talking, the news broke about four American soldiers who were killed in an incident in Lithuania," he said.
The NATO Secretary General added that he did not know any details of the tragedy.
"This is still fresh news, so we don't know the details. This is truly terrible news and our thoughts are with the families and friends," Rutte said.
NATO's statement clarified
Later, NATO clarified Secretary General Mark Rutte's statement about the American soldiers in Lithuania. They said they were still being searched for.
"The search continues for four American soldiers who went missing during military exercises in Lithuania. We regret any confusion about the NATO Secretary General's comments today on this. He was referring to new reports and did not confirm the fate of the missing men, which is still unknown," said NATO spokesperson Allison Hart.
The disappearance of US soldiers in Lithuania
As a reminder, four US servicemen went missing in Lithuania during an exercise. Search and rescue operations are currently underway.
Earlier, the media reported that the soldiers were most likely killed.
Lithuania's Minister of National Defence Dovile Šakalina went to the training ground near Pabrade, where four American soldiers went missing.
