At least 13 servicemen from the 2nd US Cavalry Regiment were injured on June 8 when their Stryker armoured fighting vehicles smashed into each other on in Lithuania, near the border with the Russian region of Kaliningrad.
The military column was traveling down Highway 130 near Prienai when the incident occured. One of the vehicles veered off the road for reasons still unknown. The three follow-on vehicles piled up.
No civilians were injured in the incident, according to reprots.
“Thirteen U.S. Army Soldiers were transported to local hospitals by host nation ground ambulances for evaluation of injuries,” Colonel Kathleen Turner commented the situation, according to Army Times.
The 2nd Cavalry Regiment’s home base in Vilseck, Germany. Currently, it’s participaring in the annual NATO exercise Saber Strike 2018, which described by Moscow as an attempt to show force along the Russian border.
About 18,000 troops (including about 3,000 from the US) from 19 countries are taking part in the drills, which began on June 6 in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland.
In the framework of the ongoing drills, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment is going to participate in a tactical crossing of the River Niemen on June 13 at Kulautuva, a town northwest of Kaunas.
Photos from the scene:
Source: delfi.lt
Source: delfi.lt
Source: delfi.lt
Source: delfi.lt
Source: delfi.lt
Source: delfi.lt
