Lithuanian troops left for Ukraine on Tuesday to train local forces in the use of US-made anti-aircraft missile systems, which the Baltic state provided amid fears of a Russian invasion.

"We have fully supported, are supporting and will continue to support Ukraine," Lithuania's Chief of Defence Valdemaras Rupsys said in a statement.

"Weapons and technology are nothing without the knowledge and ability to use them, so... we will share our knowledge and experience."

Vilnius delivered the short-range Stinger missile systems to Ukraine on Sunday after Washington approved the transfer of American weapons to Kyiv amid mounting tensions.

The troops will train their Ukrainian counterparts "for the next few weeks", according to Lithuania's armed forces.

The Baltic NATO member's troops are also taking part in a training mission in western Ukraine.

With more than 100,000 Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border, there is concern that a major conflict could break out in Europe.

But Russia said Tuesday it was pulling back some of those forces to their bases, prompting cautious optimism in the West of a possible first major step towards de-escalation.

Norway boosts its troop contingent in Lithuania
Oslo (AFP) Feb 15, 2022 - Norway on Tuesday said it was sending an additional "50-60 soldiers" to Lithuania as part of NATO's so-called reassurance mission, amid regional fears over the Ukraine crisis.

"It's mainly a show of solidarity toward our allies on the eastern flank near Russia," Defence Minister Odd Roger Enoksen told reporters.

The troops will be deployed immediately for a renewable three-month period.

The extra contingent is in addition to the 140 Norwegian troops already in Lithuania under German command, as part of NATO's "Enhanced Forward Presence" mission.

After Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Atlantic alliance deployed multinational battallions in Poland and the Baltic states as part of its reassurance mission.

Western nations fear a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow has denied plans to invade its neighbour but has massed more than 100,000 soldiers on their shared border.

Germany has also beefed up its contingent in Lithuania.

"A Russian attack against Ukraine may be imminent", Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told the same press conference.

However, Moscow said on Tuesday that hundreds of its troops deployed for weeks near the Ukrainian border had begun withdrawing.

Norway is scheduled to host the Cold Response 2022 military exercises in the second half of March, NATO's biggest military manoeuvres in the Arctic since the end of the Cold War.

Some 35,000 troops are expected to participate.

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Norway boosts its troop contingent in Lithuania
Oslo (AFP) Feb 15, 2022
Norway on Tuesday said it was sending an additional "50-60 soldiers" to Lithuania as part of NATO's so-called reassurance mission, amid regional fears over the Ukraine crisis. "It's mainly a show of solidarity toward our allies on the eastern flank near Russia," Defence Minister Odd Roger Enoksen told reporters. The troops will be deployed immediately for a renewable three-month period. The extra contingent is in addition to the 140 Norwegian troops already in Lithuania under German comman ... read more