Future presence of US troops in Lithuania is ‘under review,’ says minister
Washington is weighing the next rotation as the current 1,000-soldier contingent leaves and Lithuania says another deployment is not yet confirmed.
- On Tuesday, Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas confirmed that more than 1,000 United States troops have begun withdrawing from Lithuania, while the arrival of their replacements remains uncertain as the future deployment is under review.
- Washington is currently reassessing its European force posture, including withdrawing thousands of troops from Germany and Poland, amid a widening rift between the President Donald Trump administration and NATO partners.
- The country has tripled defense spending since 2022 to 5.4% of its gross domestic product, a commitment Washington views as "an example for other allies to follow" at the new Pabrade military base.
- At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore last week, Kaunas discussed these concerns with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, receiving assurances that future rotations will eventually take place.
- An armored U.S. battalion may be absent for the first time since 2020, though officials reiterated that the Baltic region remains vital to NATO and the United States.
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The US announced that it will withdraw 1,000 soldiers from Lithuania at the end of the rotation. Politicians say it is not yet clear whether Estonia will also face such a change.
Lithuania faces first US troop gap since 2020 as Pentagon reviews European posture
More than 1,000 US troops and their armored vehicles have begun leaving Lithuania at the end of their rotation, with no replacement unit yet on the ground — the most concrete eastern-flank consequence to date of the Trump administration's force-posture review in Europe. The departing contingent consists of two battalions of the Texas-based 1st Cavalry Division, which arrived in October 2025 with Abrams main battle tanks, Bradley fighting vehicle…
Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas announced the radical changes. He confirmed that the US contingent stationed in Lithuania is leaving as scheduled, but replacement forces have not yet been confirmed. "The next rotation is currently being considered because the number of US troops in Europe is changing. This naturally leads to a reassessment of the strategic position in the region," he said in an interview with journalists in Vilnius. …
US troop deployment to Lithuania under review
The future deployment of United States troops to Lithuania is under review, the country’s Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said on Tuesday, confirming uncertainty over the arrival of the next American military rotation as Washington reassesses its force posture across Europe. Speaking in Vilnius, Kaunas said the current US contingent stationed in Lithuania is departing according to schedule, but a replacement force has yet to be confirmed. He sa…
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