Vladimir Putin threatens war after NATO doubles its forces along the Russian border
The Russian president warned he would take action to "neutralise potential threats" after the build up of Western troops
RUSSIAN strongman Vladimir Putin warned of the prospect of war after the number of Western troops along the country's border doubled.
His defence minister said he would move soldiers to the area to "neutralise potential threats" after NATO deployed thousands of troops to the Baltic region.
The Eastern European deterrent force is made up of British, American, German and Canadian troops.
Other nations including Denmark and France are contributing smaller number of forces.
Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu said NATO forces on Russia's doorstep had "more than doubled".
He said: "Such moves of out western colleagues lead to erosion of the strategic stability in Europe and force us to take counter measures, primarily in the western theatre of operations."
He warned Russia would take action to "neutralise potential threats."
Meanwhile, Putin vowed to use his armies as a "weighty argument against any provocation."
The US recently held a training exercise called Operation Saber Strike, focusing on the Baltic States.
The operation took place in an area spanning Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and involved around 2,000 troops from 13 countries.
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Putin said: "A modern and well-equipped army and navy are a guarantee of the Motherland's sovereignty and independence, as well as of our citizens' security.
"They are a weighty argument against any attempts to provoke us, against blackmail or pressure on our country."
He said more investment and research would be directed towards high-precision arms, advanced hardware and communication devices.
Earlier this month, the Kremlin announced £1.4 trillion would be invested in space age technology including Robocop-like machine interfaces and teleporters.
Experts have previously warned the world could descend into global conflict as early as 2017, and Russia is believed to already have the military might to wipe out NATO in just 60 hours.
At a session of the Russian Defence Ministry Board, Shoigu said: "Now NATO and the US have deployed about 1200 pieces of military equipment, including 30 combat jets, as well as more than 1000 soldiers on the territories of the Eastern European countries on a rotational basis."
He added: "This year, more than 2000 pieces of new and modernised military equipment will enter operational service within the units of the western military district."
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