Lithuania says Trump deploys fresh US troops to the country

The United States has confirmed that it ​is sending a new rotation ‌of troops ​to Lithuania, the Baltic NATO country said on Tuesday, ending a period of uncertainty over whether the US military would replace forces that returned ‌home this summer. The US is withdrawing thousands of troops from bases in Europe, and Lithuania, which shares borders with Russia and Belarus, said in June it had learned that the US was reviewing its future military ‌presence in the country.

"I have just received confirmation that the new rotation of US troops is ‌already on its way to Lithuania," President Gitanas Nauseda wrote in a post on social media X. Nauseda thanked President Donald Trump and the US administration, adding that this was important for Lithuania and for the security of the region.

"The US ⁠military presence ​in Lithuania is an ⁠indispensable part of our deterrence and collective defence," Nauseda said. He did not say how many service members the next rotation would ⁠contain. Since 2019, the US has usually deployed an armoured battalion of about 1,000 troops in the country.

Lithuania's ​Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said the US deployment was "returning to large numbers", but did not ⁠provide details. "Lithuania is indeed a strong and reliable partner, and today we received proof of that," Budrys said in a statement.

The US ⁠embassy ​in Vilnius did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said later on Tuesday that the US would also maintain its ⁠military presence in his country.

"This is a strong signal of Allied unity and important element of deterrence and ⁠defence on NATO’s eastern ⁠flank," Tsahkna wrote in a post on X, adding that the Baltic country was investing more than 5% of its GDP in defence this year.