Russia sending S-400 surface-to-air missiles to Belarus for drills

MOSCOW, Jan 21, Reuters - Russia is sending two battalions of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to Belarus to join military drills there next month, the Interfax news agency said on Friday at a time of acute tensions with the West over neighbouring Ukraine.

Russian military forces and hardware arrived in Belarus this week for the Allied Resolve drills to be held near the former Soviet republic's western border with NATO members Poland and Lithuania and close to its southern flank with Ukraine.

Western states fear that Russia, which has massed tens of thousands of troops on its borders with Ukraine, is planning a new attack on a country it invaded in 2014. Russia has denied such plans. Lithuania said the buildup of Russian troops was a threat to its security.

Russia's defence ministry said two S-400 battalions - which typically include eight anti-aircraft missile systems per - have started moving by train from Russia's Far East to Belarus.

Moscow said 12 Sukhoi Su 35 fighter jets and a Pantsir missile system would be deployed to Belarus for the drills.