NEW DELHI, December 21. /TASS/. India deployed the first battery of Russian-made S-400 medium-to-long range anti-aircraft missile systems on the territory of its western Punjab state bordering on Pakistan, the ANI news agency reported on Tuesday, citing its own sources.

"The first squadron is being deployed in the Punjab sector. The batteries of the first squadron would be capable of taking care of aerial threats from both Pakistan and China," the news agency quoted its sources as saying.

India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla announced earlier in December that Russia had commenced the deliveries of S-400 air defense systems to the republic.

New Delhi announced its intention to purchase Russian-made S-400 air defense systems in 2015. A $5.43 bln contract on the delivery of five regiment sets of S-400 ‘Triumf’ anti-aircraft missile systems was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in October 2018.

The deal infuriated Washington, which is threatening to impose sanctions on the states acquiring weapons and military hardware from Russia under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) adopted in 2017.

Russia’s S-400 ‘Triumf’ (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the latest long-and medium-range surface-to-air missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy strategic and tactical aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles and hypersonic weapons and can also be used against ground installations. The S-400 can engage targets at a distance of up to 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km under intensive enemy fire and jamming.