Russia has placed nuclear Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, which borders Poland and Lithuania, according to reports in Russia’s Izvestia newspaper.

Izvestia appears to be confirming German newspaper reports this weekend that missiles were visible near the Polish border on satellite imagery.

The news of the advanced placement has caused alarm in the Baltic states, wary of Russian militarism after decades of dominance by the Soviet Union.

Russia announced in 2011 that it would place missiles in Kaliningrad to counter Nato’s plans for a Western anti-missile shield.

Nato’s system of radars and missiles aims to neutralise the threat from Russian missiles by intercepting them mid-flight.

But Russia says the shield upsets the fine strategic balance, which has kept East and West locked in a nuclear stalemate since the end of the cold war.