„This week I just met with the ambassador and we talked for a long time, and she assured me that everything is fine. This is simply a technical action when rotation takes place, so some soldiers arrive, others leave. Let’s not forget that some of the soldiers remain here,” I. Ruginienė told LNK News on Thursday.
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„We still have certain decisions when more soldiers will arrive. So, for now, there is really no panic or anxiety,” she added.
As BNS wrote, after the rotation, over a thousand American soldiers with equipment are beginning their withdrawal from Lithuania these days. They should be replaced by a new group of soldiers, but when this will happen and how many there will be, as the US reviews the deployment of armed forces in Europe, is not yet clear.
All this means that the rotation of US troops in Lithuania will be longer than usual.
Minister of National Defense Robertas Kaunas says he has assurances from the US that the American soldiers completing their rotation will be replaced by new ones, but when this will happen is unclear.
In recent years, the rotation of American soldiers has essentially been on a continuous basis. This means that while some soldiers returned to their original deployment location, units replacing them would already begin to arrive in Lithuania.
Americans have regularly deployed battalions of soldiers in Lithuania since 2019. With the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Washington changed the status of its forces in Lithuania to continuous rotational deployment.
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These reinforced battalions typically consisted of a thousand or more soldiers with various combat equipment.
Earlier in May, Washington announced it was halting the deployment of 4,000 troops in Poland.
However, not long after, US President Donald Trump stated that he was deploying 5,000 American soldiers in Poland.
The American leader then stated that this step was based on his relationship with Polish President Karolis Nawrockis.
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