Britain will send a small number of troops to Lithuania, in response to "pressures along its border with Belarus" and amid heightened fears Russia may invade Ukraine, officials said Monday.

The deployment to the former Soviet bloc country was being made "in the spirit of solidarity", said a defence ministry statement. It would support its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance efforts.

Although Lithuania is a NATO member, the personnel will not be sent through the Western military alliance but bilaterally, the statement added.

"The UK and Lithuania have shared concerns about Russia's military build-up on Ukraine's border and the unfolding migrant crisis on Lithuania's border with Belarus," Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement.

"I have now directed the bilateral deployment of a small number of military personnel to address these border pressures."

Britain has announced a flurry of troop deployments in recent weeks, sending an additional 350 soldiers to Poland to help shore up NATO's eastern flank against any perceived Russian aggression.

They join the 150 soldiers Britain already contributes to NATO's enhanced forward presence there.

London also sent another 150 soldiers to Poland in December in response to the migrant crisis on the Belarusian border.

It is nearly doubling its NATO deployment in Lithuania's Baltic neighbour Estonia -- from 900 to 1,750 -- and until recently had a smaller force in Ukraine for training on UK anti-tank missiles.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said 1,000 troops would be placed on readiness to deploy at short notice for a "humanitarian response" in the region if required, his office said last week.

US intelligence has warned that Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops around Ukraine's borders, could invade its western neighbour within days.

Russian defence minister tells Putin some military drills 'ending'
Moscow (AFP) Feb 14, 2022 - Russia's defence minister told President Vladimir Putin on Monday that some of Moscow's massive military drills in Russia and Belarus were coming to a close.

"Some of these drills are ending, some will be completed in the near future," Sergei Shoigu told Putin in a meeting.

He added that some of the exercises, which began in December, were ongoing.

Shoigu told Putin that "large-scale" exercises have taken place across Russia's western military districts and in almost all of its fleets -- "in the Barents Sea, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and with the Pacific Fleet".

Russia has massed around 100,000 troops near Ukraine's borders, with the US and its allies warning that Moscow could be planning an imminent invasion.

The West has been particularly alarmed by Moscow's massive drills in Belarus, north of Ukraine. But Russia on Monday appeared to show signs of easing tensions.

Ahead of his meeting with Shoigu, Putin met with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who told him that a diplomatic solution with the West was still possible.

Shoigu also told Putin that Russia's Pacific Fleet had discovered what it believed to be a US submarine off its Far Eastern coast.

He called the incident, which the defence ministry reported on Sunday, "completely incomprehensible".

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Russia ready for more talks to end Ukraine standoff
Moscow (AFP) Feb 14, 2022
Russia held the door open Monday to further talks on resolving its standoff with the West and said some of its military drills were ending, signalling a possible easing of the crisis over Ukraine. As Western intelligence officials warned Wednesday could mark the start of an invasion, Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on national television the day would be marked as "Unity Day". While the comments from President Vladimir Putin and his foreign and defence ministers seemed to offer ... read more