Future US troop presence in Lithuania “under review,” minister says
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative file photo — A U.S. Army M1A3 Abrams Tank fires its main gun during a multinational exercise at Pabrade Training Area, Lithuania, Dec. 2, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Terron Williams via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS))
By Andrius Sytas (Reuters)
VILNIUS - The future presence of U.S. troops in Lithuania is "under review", the Baltic country's defence minister said on Tuesday, adding that although Washington had assured him new rotations would arrive, he did not know when and at what strength.
The U.S. is withdrawing thousands of troops based in Germany and Poland as the rift between the administration of President Donald Trump and its NATO allies and partners in Europe over the Iran war widens.
In Lithuania, U.S. troops presently stationed in the country are now leaving as expected, but the next scheduled group is not arriving, Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said.
"(The next) rotation is currently under review... because the number of (U.S. troops) in Europe is changing, this naturally leads to a review of regional stance", Kaunas told reporters in Vilnius.
The move would leave Lithuania without an armored U.S. battalion of about 1,000 troops on its soil for the first time since 2020.
The minister said he had discussed the situation with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Shangri-La Dialogue conference in Singapore last week.
"We have assurance that (the next rotation in Lithuania) will arrive, but when exactly, and with which capabilities, and at what size - this is due to be announced", said Kaunas.
"We were reassured that the Baltic region is of critical importance to NATO and the U.S., they see our investment, and our defence spending is shown as an example to other allies", he added.
Lithuania, which borders Russia, has tripled its defence spending since 2022, and is due to spend 5.4% of its gross domestic product on defence this year.
The current U.S. rotation, which arrived in October 2025, consists of two battalions of Texas-based 1st Cavalry Division, with Abrams tanks, Bradley armored vehicles and Paladin tracked self-propelled howitzers, the Lithuanian defence ministry said.
The troops were the first to be based at the new permanent facilities which Lithuania built for them at Pabrade military base, close to the Belarus border.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by Alexdandra Hudson // REUTERS)
