NATO troops face-to-face with Russia's nuclear missiles deep inside Europe

HUNDREDS of British troops will come face-to-face with Russia's nuclear weapons when Vladimir Putin completes the transfer of a terrifying arsenal of missiles to an enclave deep inside Europe.

Moscow has confirmed the army is moving the 

nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles into Kaliningrad

Moscow has confirmed the army is moving the nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles into Kaliningrad - bordering Poland and Lithuania.

At the same time, 650 British troops are being deployed to eastern Europe to repel Russia's expanding dominance in the region.

The Kremlin said in a statement they were being stationed in the Russian enclave "as part of military training of the Russian armed forces".

The move is being interpreted in the West as a retaliation to increased activity by NATO along the border with Russia.

Mr Putin's actions will also increase pressure on NATO members to increase their contributions to European defences.

Lithuania, neighbouring Kaliningrad and a member of NATO, has said the government will protest to Moscow, while Germany and Poland are also expected to react angrily to the missile deployment, particularly as the Iskander can hit targets 450 miles away, putting the German capital Berlin in range.

NATO is readying a fast-reaction force of several thousands troops in the east of Europe alongside Britain's commitment to an additional 650 soldiers.

Around 500 will be based in Estonia while 150 will be stationed in Estonia.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon warned on Sunday the world was seeing "a much more aggressive Russia".

He said: "We hoped Russia would become a partner to us in the West, but clearly Russia has decided to be a competitor.

"They said that right at the beginning they were going to come in and help us fight Daesh [Islamic State], they haven't done that.

"They've been helping (Syrian president Bashar) Assad bomb his own people, they've been flexing their muscles in the Black Sea, they've been militarising in Crimea, we've seen this pressure on the Baltic states, and they've tried to interfere in elections - they even tried to interfere on the Dutch referendum on the Ukraine association agreement."

Kaliningrad, which is separate from the Russian mainland and on the Baltic Sea, houses dozens of warships, submarines, land troops, a naval brigade and two military airbases.

Commanders fear that in a conflict Russia's significant military buildup in the area could hinder attempts by NATO to reach the Baltic states and north-eastern Poland.

Express.co.uk revealed earlier this year how a 40-mile stretch of land in north-east Poland could be the achilles heel in Europe's border which Russia could exploit to launch an invasion.

The Suwalki Gap - measuring just 40-miles wide - is the only link between Poland and the Baltic states.

But the area is surrounded by the Russian province of Kaliningrad to the north and Kremlin-friendly Belarus to the south.

NATO commanders have expressed concerns if Moscow's forces seized the thin slither of land, the three Baltic states - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - would be left isolated and helpless to a Russian invasion.