Russia has accused the US of striking a “severe blow” to European stability after Donald Trump announced he would send 1,000 troops to Poland, raising fears of a new arms race between the two military superpowers.

Mr Trump’s decision to boost the US military in Poland, which has long sought a bigger Nato presence to deter any threat from Russia, comes just months after his administration pulled out of a landmark cold war nuclear missile treaty drawn up to protect Europe from attack.

Russia’s foreign ministry said yesterday the move was a “severe blow” to a separate 1997 deal between Russia and Nato restricting military build-up in eastern Europe and represented a “further dangerous build-up of military capabilities on the continent”. The ministry’s statement said Washington had acted “without regard to obligations under multilateral instruments, and now without regard to European allies”.