US confirms new troop rotation to Lithuania, ending months of uncertainty
President Gitanas Nauseda announced a new rotation of US troops is already on its way to Lithuania, ending months of uncertainty over Washington's military presence in the Baltic NATO state.
A new rotation of US troops is already on its way to Lithuania, President Gitanas Nauseda announced on Tuesday, ending months of uncertainty over Washington’s military presence in the Baltic NATO state.
Nauseda said in a post on social media platform X that the United States had confirmed the new rotation. He thanked President Donald Trump and the US administration, saying the deployment was important for Lithuania and the region’s security.
“The US military presence in Lithuania is an indispensable part of our deterrence and collective defence,” Nauseda said.
The confirmation comes as Washington withdraws thousands of troops from bases in Europe. Lithuania said in June it had learned the US was reviewing its future military presence in the country, so Tuesday’s announcement ends months of uncertainty.
Since 2019 the US has usually deployed an armoured battalion of about 1,000 troops in Lithuania. Nauseda did not say how many service members the next rotation would contain. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said the US deployment was “returning to large numbers” but gave no details, calling Lithuania “a strong and reliable partner”.
The US embassy in Vilnius did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. Lithuania is a Baltic NATO member sharing borders with Russia and Belarus.
Sources
- Reuters (via ThePrint), “Lithuania says Trump deploys fresh US troops to the country”, by Andrius Sytas, 22 Sept 2026: https://theprint.in/world/lithuania-says-trump-deploys-fresh-us-troops-to-the-country/3050246/
- Reuters, “New group of US troops on its way to Lithuania, says Lithuanian president”, 22 Sept 2026: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/new-group-us-troops-on-its-way-lithuania-says-lithuanian-president-2026-09-22/
- Straits Times (Reuters), “New group of US troops on its way to Lithuania, says the Lithuanian president”: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/new-group-of-us-troops-on-its-way-to-lithuania-says-the-lithuanian-president
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