Russia to move forces to Belarus for military drills next month

Russia said it will move forces to Belarus for military drills next month, amid deepening confrontation with the U.S. and Europe over Ukraine. 
The joint exercises, called "Allied Determination-2022,” will take place Feb. 10-20, with Russian troops in place in Belarus by Feb. 9, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said at a briefing Tuesday for military attaches in Moscow. They’ll practice search-and-destroy measures against "illegal formations” and defense of the state border against "armed groups of militants,” he said.
Russia and Belarus have formed a so-called Union State to coordinate economic and defense policies. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Monday the joint drills would practice confrontation with the Baltic countries, Poland and Ukraine.
Fomin didn’t say how many Russian forces were being dispatched to join the drills in Belarus, which borders Ukraine. The announcement comes as the U.S. and its European allies seek to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from a possible invasion of Ukraine, with American intelligence showing Russia has massed some 100,000 troops close to the border.
Russia plans to send 12 advanced Su-35 fighters and two divisions of S-400 anti-aircraft systems to test its air-defenses as part of its defensive union with Belarus, the Tass news service reported, citing Fomin.
Russia denies any current plan to invade Ukraine. At the same time, Putin is demanding binding security guarantees from the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that would ban Ukraine and other ex-Soviet states from joining the alliance, as well as oblige NATO to withdraw forces to positions they held in 1997.
Russia says it’s waiting for written responses from the West to its security proposals, after holding a series of inconclusive meetings with U.S. and European officials last week.