Russian troops in Belarus pose "direct threat to Lithuania" - defence minister

Russian troops arriving into Belarus for what Moscow and Misnk say will be joint military exercises are a direct threat to Lithuania, said the NATO member's defence minister Arvydas Anusauskas.

"In the current situation, we consider the entry of Russian military forces into Belarus not only as a destabilising factor of the security situation, but also as an even greater direct threat to Lithuania," he wrote on Facebook.

The Russian troops are raising concerns that they "potentially" could be used to attack neighbouring Ukraine, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday.