Russian leader Vladimir Putin has invested in top-secret reinforced bunkers across Moscow, according to reports.

It has been claimed the Russian hardman has invested heavily in the structures around the capital city in the event of war with the West.

In reports that first emerged last month Russia began building 'dozens' of underground bunkers across the country several years ago, according to US officials.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has invested in top-secret reinforced bunkers across Moscow, according to reports

'Russia is getting ready for a big war which they assume will go nuclear, with them launching the first attacks,' Mark Schneider, a former Pentagon nuclear policy official told the Washington Free Beacon. 'We are not serious about preparing for a big war, much less a nuclear war.'

Few details about the new nuclear bunkers have been released, but Russian state-run media says they are being built in Moscow as part of a new national security strategy.

Russia has also constructed a large-scale bunker near Mount Yamantau in the Urals.

The relationship between the West and Russia has soured in recent years since the annexation of Crimea and the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Tensions have also been raised at NATO drills in the Baltic states in eastern Europe.

It has been claimed the Russian hardman has invested heavily in the structures around the capital city (pictured) in the event of war with the West

In reports that first emerged last month Russia began building 'dozens' of underground bunkers across the country several years ago, according to US officials

A US-led exercise in June involved around 6,000 troops, 50 ships, 60 aircraft and one submarine.

Earlier this year reports emerged of Russia preparing to test a nuclear missile which is so advanced it could get past NATO defences and decimate a large slice of Europe within seconds of launching.

The RS-28 Sarmat missile, dubbed Satan 2, has a top speed of seven kilometres (4.3 miles) per second and has been designed to outfox anti-missile shield systems.

The Sarmat missile could deliver a warhead of 40 megatons - 2,000 times as powerful as the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Zvezda reported the missile could destroy an area the size of France or Texas.

The Sarmat missile could deliver a warhead of 40 megatons - 2,000 times as powerful as the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 (pictured)

It is expected to have a range of 10,000 km (6,213 miles), which would allow Moscow to attack London and other European cities as well as reaching cities on America's west and east coasts.

Dr Loren Thompson, a top defence expert from the US think-tank Lexington Institute, told The National Interest: 'The possibility of nuclear war between America and Russia not only still exists, but is probably growing.

'And the place where it is most likely to begin is in a future military confrontation over three small Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.