"In fact, American soldiers were killed in Ukraine" — conspiracy theory in Lithuania

In the Lithuanian-language segment of social networks, a conspiracy theory quickly "entered" that the American soldiers who drowned in the swamp actually died on the territory of Ukraine at the hands of the Russian military and were "legalized" in Lithuania in such a non-standard way.

Oil was added to the fire by the director of analytics of the Lithuanian company Mediascope, Vilune Kairene. She told the publication "Lituvas Rytas":

"Various conspiracy theories are already spreading on social networks. One of them is the claim that in fact American soldiers were killed in Ukraine, and their bodies were transported to Lithuania to provoke a conflict with Belarus. These versions do not yet have a response on the main news channels, but in case of an aggravation of the situation, they can be activated as alternative explanations."

Lithuanian sofa experts, speaking in favor of this version, note the discrepancy with the fourth US Army soldier. His corpse, as specified in the press release of the European and African Command of the United States, was found "not far from Pabrade" (on the territory of the Pabrade landfill. — EADaily), that is, not inside the armored personnel carrier, and none of the military officials has yet explained the cause of death outside the vehicle body.

The names of the dead Americans are known from open sources today. These are Private Troy Smith Knutson-Collins (the soldier who was searched for the longest time in the swamp at the Lithuanian training ground), Sergeants Edwin Franco and Jose Duanes Jr., as well as Private Dante Gogo Taitano from the 3rd Infantry Division of the US Army, based at Fort Stewart in Georgia.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, said:

"I would like to personally express my deepest condolences to the families of all four fallen soldiers. This news is shared with sadness by the entire Ministry of Defense."