WW3 scare: Vladimir Putin's war threat as NATO forces DOUBLE along Russian border

VLADIMIR Putin has pledged to bolster his military to “guarantee the Motherland’s sovereignty and independence” as NATO forces mobilise in the region.

By Henry Holloway

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The Kremlin have said they have been forced to take retaliatory measures as the West deploys thousands of troops to the Baltic region in preparation.

Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu said NATO forces on Russia’s doorstep had “more than doubled”.

He said: “Such moves of our 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 “neutralize potential threats”.

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Meanwhile, the Russian president promised to turn the superpower’s armies into a “weighty argument against any provocation”.

He 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.”

Putin added “strengthening our military forces is definitely is definitely the most important task of all” for the federation” and said “the emphasis will be put on the most advanced high-precision arms, advanced hardware and communication devices”.

Earlier this month the Kremlin announced £1.4 trillion will be invested in space age technology including Robocop-like machine interfaces and teleporters.

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This latest chest beating by Russia comes as Putin issued a stark warning that the world was heading for a second Cold War while Canadian spies revealed the bloc was “mobilising for war”.

In the Middle East, Russia and the United States have collided recently, with a clash between US fighters and Kremlin bombers and a “dangerous” stand off between two battleships.

Claims have also been made Putin is backing a campaign of violence carried out by Russian football fans at Euro 2016, and that the Kremlin is actually behind ISIS's hacking wing the so-called Cyber Caliphate.

Experts have warned the world could descend into global conflict as early as 2017, and Russia is believed to have already the military might to wipe out NATO in just 60 hours.

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At a session of the Russian Defence Ministry Board, Shoigu said: “Now NATO and the US have deployed about 1,200 pieces of military equipment, including 30 combat jets, as well as more than 1,000 soldiers on the territories of the Eastern European countries on a rotational basis.

“The US navy ships as well as military vessels of other NATO members regularly enter the Baltic and Black Sea.’

He added “This year, more than 2,000 pieces of new and modernized military equipment will enter operational service within the units of the western military district” in order to counter the NATO build up.