First wave of returning U.S. troops lands in Lithuania as security push intensifies

On Tuesday evening, President Gitanas Nausėda posted that the first group of returning U.S. troops has landed on Lithuanian soil, praising Donald Trump for facilitating the move. Roughly 100 soldiers arrived in Pabradė, beginning a rotation that will eventually bring two full battalions—one heavy armoured, the other engineering—to the country by mid-November. Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas explained that additional arrivals are scheduled weekly, with equipment arriving by sea and rail.

The deployment follows a U.S. review that had left only a little over 100 American personnel in Lithuania earlier this year. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said the nation is prepared to host permanently stationed U.S. forces and cover related costs, echoing Trump’s recent suggestion of a permanent base.