There is no panic or concern over the rotation of U.S. troops - Lithuanian Prime Minister 0 21

"This week I met with the ambassador, and I was assured that everything is fine. It is just a technical process of rotation: some troops are arriving, others are departing. Let’s not forget that part of the troops remains here," said Ruginiene on Thursday during an interview with LNK Zinios.

"We also have certain decisions regarding the arrival of additional forces. So there is definitely no panic or concern at this time," she added.

According to BNS, after the completion of the rotation, more than a thousand American soldiers with equipment are beginning to leave Lithuania these days. They are to be replaced by a new group, however, the timing and size of the new contingent are still unclear amid the U.S. review of its military deployment in Europe.

This means that the pause in the rotation of U.S. troops in Lithuania will last longer than usual.

Defense Minister Robertas Karpis stated that he received assurances from the U.S. that the departing American troops will be replaced by new ones, but the timing is still unknown.

In recent years, the rotation of American troops has been almost continuous. This meant that while some troops were returning to their permanent bases, replacement units were already starting to arrive in Lithuania.

The U.S. has regularly deployed its battalions in Lithuania since 2019. After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Washington changed the status of its forces in Lithuania to continuous rotational deployment.

These enhanced battalions typically consisted of a thousand or more servicemen with various combat equipment.

Earlier in May, Washington announced the suspension of the deployment of 4,000 servicemen to Poland.

However, shortly after that, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the deployment of 5,000 American troops to Poland.

The American leader noted at that time that this step was based on his relationship with Polish President Karol Nawrocki.