Vladimir Putin said Russia was prepared to use its military against what he called a growing threat from Nato, which he blamed for stoking tensions that have led the US and EU to fear Moscow may be planning to invade Ukraine.

The Russian president told a group of senior military officers on Tuesday that the Kremlin was “seriously concerned” about Nato deployments near the country’s borders and the possibility of it having hypersonic weapons in Ukraine that could strike Moscow in less than 10 minutes.

“If our western colleagues continue this clearly aggressive stance, we will take appropriate military-technical measures in response and react harshly to hostile steps,” Putin said, according to state newswire RIA Novosti. “And I want to stress that we are within our rights to do what is required to ensure Russia’s security and sovereignty.”