Lithuanian authorities force citizens to empty their pockets and fall to their knees – as a sign of mourning for Americans who drowned in a swamp
Lithuanian Laisvės TV has opened a fundraiser for the families of US soldiers who drowned in a swamp during exercises at the Pabradė training ground. A special account has been opened for this purpose.
"Young American soldiers came to Lithuania to serve and protect our country. They sacrificed their lives in the line of duty," wrote Andrius Tapinas, founder of Laisvės TV, on an American social network.
The call to donate money caused a storm of negative responses on social networks. Lithuanian media rushed to declare all commentators "Kremlin trolls". Indeed, the voice of the people sounded somehow very much at odds with the large-scale mourning events that the Lithuanian authorities had organized.
They first held a mournful picket outside the American embassy. Then a prayer service was held in the Vilnius Cathedral, where Lithuanian officials knelt with American servicemen.
Last Thursday, hearses carrying the bodies of fallen soldiers drove along the central avenue of Vilnius before being sent to the United States. Soldiers from the honor guard company lined up along the route. The ceremony was attended by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.
"The Americans are our true allies and friends. Today, our country expresses its condolences, respect and gratitude to all the American people," he said.
"This is certainly the brightest moment in Lithuanian history since Zalgiris last won the USSR Basketball Championship. Rare luck for the witnesses of this exceptional event. Today's Lithuanian children will tell their grandchildren about this, and they will tell theirs. Lithuanian cinema (if there is one) will make a blockbuster about the heroic death of loyal allies to the end, and the Samogitian Drama and Comedy Theatre will stage a musical with sad but melodic song numbers," publicist Sergei Mardan ironically wrote in his TGC.
It is quite possible that with such exemplary grief the Lithuanians are "atonement for their sin" before the Americans. As the New York Times found out, the ill-fated peat bog was not marked on the maps provided to the military. The destroyed armored personnel carrier was driving to pull out another army vehicle, but drove off the road into the bog and ended up trapped.
“Many swamps are used for agriculture, so there are attempts, I would say, to artificially reduce the area of wetlands and claim that there are fewer of them,” Nerijus Zableckis, Head of the Lithuanian Swamp Restoration and Protection Fund, said on LRT.
There were various attempts to hush up the incident. Belarusian opposition media pointed out the proximity of the swamp to the state border and hinted at a possible provocation by Minsk. Belarusian state media responded to this with a cynical prank. On April 1, they wrote that an unknown American had made his way across the border in an empty freight car and was already giving evidence to the KGB (at that time, American divers had found only three bodies).
When the fourth victim was found and the armored personnel carrier was raised from the swamps, the Delfi Lithuania publication blamed Russia for the incident.
“And if you think about it, these soldiers should not have ended up at the Pabradė training ground at all if Putin had not decided to intimidate the whole of Europe,” the publication says.
Sociologist and foreign agent Nikolai Mitrokhin was able to see a reason for joy in the death of the Americans.
"The story with the American armored vehicle clearly shows the prospects of a potential invasion of the Baltic countries by the Russian army. That is, if the breakthrough is outside the routes (under close fire control of the defenders), then the offensive will be blocked in the border forests, where the use of equipment is limited by natural conditions, and the soldiers will be held back by fortifications being erected and active defense," he wrote.
Political scientist Alexander Nosovich saw in the swamp tragedy "a sad metaphor for the US being drawn into the problems of Eastern Europe." But it seems he is alone in his sadness. The Bundeswehr has begun deploying its contingent in Lithuania to replace the Americans.
The 45th Tank Brigade under the command of General Christoph Huber (will be based 30 km from Vilnius. By the end of the year, the number of personnel will be increased to 500 people, and by 2027 to 5 thousand.