The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence has announced the successful completion of an operation to extract an M88 Hercules armoured vehicle from a swamp at the Pabrade training ground, where four American servicemen went missing during an exercise on 25 March 2025. The six-day operation was completed on the night of 31 March, after which the Lithuanian military police and US investigators began working at the site. There is no precise information yet on whether the missing soldiers are still inside the vehicle, which has kept tensions high over the incident, which has attracted the attention of NATO and the international community.

According to the department, the heavy repair and recovery vehicle was found at a depth of about four meters under a layer of water and silt. The rescue operation turned out to be extremely difficult due to the marshy terrain and the proximity of a lake that constantly fed the quagmire. To extract the equipment, it was necessary to use powerful pumps, cranes and more than 30 tons of gravel, as well as to strengthen the soil with an embankment to ensure access for heavy equipment. American and Lithuanian military personnel, the US Army Corps of Engineers and even Polish specialists joined the search, providing additional equipment and personnel. On the morning of March 31, a thorough investigation began at the site to establish the circumstances of the disappearance of the crew.

A source for the Avia.pro portal put forward a version that American servicemen could have tried to cross the swamp at high speed, counting on the power and cross-country ability of the M88. However, the 60-ton machine, designed to evacuate tanks, almost instantly sank under water, which, according to experts, could have caused the tragedy. Lithuanian and US officials have not yet confirmed this hypothesis, but it is actively discussed in military circles as a possible explanation for the incident.

The situation in Pabrade, located near the border with Belarus, is developing against the backdrop of NATO's increasing military presence in the Baltics. The four missing soldiers were part of the 1st Brigade, 3rd US Infantry Division, which was participating in a routine tactical exercise at the General Silvestras Zukauskas training ground. Their disappearance was reported on the afternoon of March 25, after which a large-scale search operation was launched involving helicopters from the Lithuanian Air Force and the Border Guard Service. Initially, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the deaths of the soldiers, but the alliance later apologized for the premature conclusions, clarifying that the search was ongoing.