The US armoured vehicle that sank in a swamp near the Pabrade training area in eastern Lithuania has been recovered, Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene confirmed on the morning of March 31, LRT.lt reported on March 31.

Later, the prosecutor general announced that a pre-trial investigation has been launched concerning the deaths of US soldiers. So far, this is the only comment on the matter. Several funeral vehicles were seen at the scene.

The minister told LRT Radio that there is a "very strict agreement" ensuring the US will be the first to release information about the missing American soldiers.

"Around 10 pm on March 30, the attachment point for the second cable was located, and shortly after 11 pm, the second cable was secured. At 2:45 am, the extraction operation began," Sakaliene told LRT Radio, according to LRT.lt.

"At 4:30 am, the extraction operation was completed. Two M88 armoured vehicles were used, along with two additional bulldozers for anchoring, as the initial setup was insufficient," she said, as reported by LRT.lt.

According to Sakaliene, the armoured vehicle weighed nearly 70 tonnes and was stuck in the mud, which significantly increased its effective weight due to resistance. She said the Lithuanian Military Police and US investigators are currently working at the site.

Valdas Tutkus, Lithuania’s former chief of defence, told bne IntelliNews on March 27 that several key questions about the incident remain unanswered.

"First, how the vehicle ended up in the swamp, especially, if we are to believe the reports, after the training was over. Secondly, I speak from my own experience: any training is followed by a check of the personnel and the vehicles. At this point, we do not know if this was done. If it was done, then when, by whom, etc. Thirdly, it was a Nato military exercise, led by the Americans, and representatives of the Lithuanian Armed Forces do not usually participate in them. However, this still needs to be clarified," Tutkus said.

Unlike aircraft, military vehicles do not typically have the so-called “black boxes”, he noted.

According to Tutkus, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence handled the situation well and is responsible for releasing information about the incident.

The missing troops are assigned to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, US Army. The US Army has been rotating in forces to maintain an uninterrupted presence and training in Lithuania since 2019.