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The show of force comes just days after the Russian leader’s fleet passed near the British coast. British soldiers will travel to Estonia in what is one of the biggest build-ups of foreign firepower on Russia’s border since the Cold War. The move will take place next spring, with Denmark and France also taking part in the huge military exercise.

GETTY British troops, tanks and drones are being sent to the Russian border

The project was revealed by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, who said the UK’s forces will be “fully combat-capable". He said: “That battalion will be defensive in nature, but it will be fully combat-capable. “This is about two things: reassurance, and that needs to be done with some formidable presence, and deterrence. "This is not simply a trip-wire. This is a serious military presence.”

GETTY Russian soldiers parading in Red Square

Cold War-style tensions between Moscow and Washington took a further dip this week after the US revealed plans to station marines in Norway - just a few hundred miles from the border with Russia. Officials in Norway and the US said they were considering a deal for extra equipment and training for the Scandinavian country. Russia has reacted angrily to the plans, saying there was "the absence of threat from Russia to Norway".

DOVER MARINA A Russian aircraft carrier off the British coast earlier this month

Mr Putin made a similar show of force last month, when he orchestrated a military evacuation drill including a staggering 40 million people. The huge four-day “civil defence” drill set alarm bells ringing in Washington and London, with tensions already high over disagreements in Syria. Russia’s Ministry for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disaster revealed 40 million civilians, 200,000 emergency rescuers and 50,000 units of equipment were involved in the war game, which ran from October 4 to October 7.

GETTY A Russian soldier taking part in a military exercise last year

And last month two RAF jets were scrambled to intercept Russian bombers which had flown threateningly close to British airspace. While the two Russian Blackjack bombers did not enter British airspace, authorities were alarmed when they passed to the west of the Shetland Islands.

Meet Putin's deadly warships Mon, March 13, 2017 Putin's armed fleet heads for Dover as Moscow moves ships from the Med to square up to Royal Navy vessels in 'Operation Sea Fist' Play slideshow Dover-marina.com 1 of 23 Putin's warships sail past the White Cliffs of Dover

The Ministry of Defence revealed jets from RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Coningsby were eventually launched as a "precautionary measure”. The Russian planes, which had travelled from the direction of Norway, then continued their route away from Britain.

GOOGLE MAPS The British troops, tanks and drones will be sent to Estonia in spring

GETTY Vladimir Putin has been ramping up tension with the UK in recent months

A similar incident occurred again last, when the RAF were twice forced to scramble jets to intercept Russian bombers. Putin's aircrafts flew in an "area of interest" off the coast of Scotland on October 12 and October 16, the MoD revealed.

This latest development comes amid a massive break-down in communication between America and Russia over their operations in Syria. A spokesman for the US State Department said earlier this month: “Extremist groups will continue to exploit the vacuums that are there in Syria to expand their operations.

RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY Russian authorities taking part in a huge emergency drill this month