Russians Deploy S-400 Surface-to-Air Missiles as Joint Exercises Begin in Belarus

A large-scale joint military exercise involving Russian and Belarusian forces began in Belarus on February 10, according to both countries’ armed forces, further ratcheting up tensions near the border with Ukraine.

Russia, which also sent warships to the Black Sea in recent days, said that the Belarus exercises were being “conducted in order to work out the tasks of suppressing and repelling external aggression during a defensive operation, as well as countering terrorism and protecting the interests of the Union State.”

The Pentagon said on Thursday that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, had spoken with a top Belarusian official to “reduce chances of miscalculation.”

Ukraine on Thursday accused Russia of blockading large parts of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, which lie to Ukraine’s south.

This footage, released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on February 9, shows S-400 anti-aircraft systems being deployed in a training field described as located in Brest, Belarus. Brest is in western Belarus, along the border with Poland, a NATO member. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense via Storyful