Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda said on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, that a new rotation of US troops is “already on its way” to the country, resolving part of the uncertainty over the military presence in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally bordering Russia, as reported by Reuters, Stars and Stripes and Mezha.

Nausėda thanked Donald Trump and said the “US military presence in Lithuania is an indispensable part of our deterrence and collective defence”; Lithuanian foreign minister Kęstutis Budrys said “US boots on the ground are essential for deterrence, defence, and security on NATO’s eastern flank”. The United States has kept rotations in Lithuania since 2019, with battalions of about 1,000 troops. Stars and Stripes reported that the contingent is normally drawn from the Poland-based brigade, that the number and origin of the troops have not been disclosed and that the Pentagon had not publicly confirmed the deployment: in May 2026 defence secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a rebalancing of forces in Europe, withdrawing up to 5,000 troops from Germany and cancelling the move to Poland of the armoured brigade based at Fort Hood, Texas, which left the troops in Lithuania without a replacement.