US resumes troop rotation in Lithuania as first 100 soldiers arrive
The first roughly 100 US soldiers have arrived in Lithuania as Washington resumes its rotational deployment there. Two battalions are due to be fully in place by mid-November.
The United States has resumed rotating troops into Lithuania, and the first group of about 100 American soldiers has arrived, Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told public broadcaster LRT on Wednesday. The move matters for security in the Baltic region: after Washington reviewed its military presence in Europe this summer, only slightly more than 100 US troops had remained in Lithuania.
How the deployment will unfold
Kaunas said the rotation began a day earlier. Another 10 to 12 arrivals are planned, continuing next week, and two battalions are to be fully deployed in the country by mid-November. The allied forces will be stationed in Pabradė, where the first soldiers have already arrived. US military equipment is being transported to Lithuania by sea and rail.
One unit is a heavy armoured battalion, meant to strengthen regional security and provide extra response capability if needed. The other is an engineering battalion, which will help develop Lithuania's national division and the Baltic defence line. Together the units include more than 1,000 troops, and the scale of the deployment will be similar to that of recent years.
Political reaction
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda wrote on the social network X that it was great news and thanked US President Donald Trump for making it happen.
Background
US troops have been stationed in Lithuania on a rotational basis, with interruptions, since spring 2014. Heavy armoured battalions have been deployed in the country since 2019, and since 2022 the US battalion there has been reinforced with an artillery unit. A mission usually lasts nine months.
Trump has said the possibility of creating a permanent US military base in Lithuania will be considered. Lithuanian leaders have welcomed the idea. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius has said Lithuania is ready to host permanently stationed US troops and cover the base's maintenance costs if Washington decides to go ahead.
