Trump unaware as rescue efforts continue for missing US soldiers
The fate and circumstances surrounding the disappearance of four American soldiers in Lithuania remain unknown. Their bodies have not been discovered, and consequently, their deaths have not been confirmed. Donald Trump was questioned about the incident and was unaware of it.
During a press conference, Donald Trump was asked whether he had been informed about the soldiers who went missing during military exercises near the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, and were initially mistakenly presumed dead.
Trump stirred controversy with his ignorance of events in Lithuania
"No, I haven't," - Trump immediately responded.
His response caused astonishment on social media and among critics, some of whom likened it to the apparent complete ignorance of the president regarding the so-called Signalgate.
On Monday, "The Atlantic" published an article in which editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg describes how he inadvertently became part of a discussion group on the Signal app, where plans for an attack on Yemen were being discussed. Participating in the conversation were Vice President J.D. Vance, Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz, and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.
"Absolutely shocking statement"
"So Trump didn't know about the soldiers... and they didn't tell him about the Signal chat... who's really running the White House?" – wrote The Lincoln Project on platform X.
Another user, quoted by The Independent, commented: "How has SecDef Hegseth not briefed POTUS on the missing U.S. soldiers in Lithuania? This has been in the public domain for 8+ hours."
"His lack of knowledge or care about this situation is another major scandal" – wrote one critic, while another remarked: "This dude has zero clue what’s happening in his administration."
"This is an absolutely shocking statement," said journalist Aaron Rupar.
"Four service members lose their lives in Lithuania and Donald Trump is completely oblivious. Let a random building in Colorado hang a picture of him he doesn’t like and he rants about it online all day. But four dead Americans? No idea," wrote Shea Jordan Smith.
Democratic Congressman Gerry Connolly from Virginia also voiced his outrage at the president's reaction on platform X.
"He fired thousands of veterans across the government. His team carelessly shares information that puts our pilots at risk. He doesn’t care to know about missing American soldiers. What more proof do we need that this man [isn't concernced] about the heroes who protect us?" - he wrote.
Rescue operation continues overnight
The bodies of the four US soldiers have not been located, and their deaths have not been confirmed – reported Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė, who, on Thursday, accompanied by Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, visited the training ground in Pabradė near the Belarusian border, where the American soldiers went missing.
Šakalienė stated that rescue operations had been conducted throughout the night in the swampy terrain where the armoured vehicle Hercules, which the soldiers were believed to be using, was found. Water was being extracted, and the ground was being fortified to facilitate the access of heavy machinery to the site without damaging the gas pipeline running there.
- There is no guarantee that the soldiers are inside the vehicle. Alternative scenarios are also being considered, which provides some hope for rescuing the missing, - said Šakalienė in an interview with public broadcaster RLT.
