International

President Putin is feared to be plotting a military incursion in the Baltic states as a direct challenge to Donald Trump and Nato, according to a veteran US commander who has turned down the chance to be the next defence secretary.

Jack Keane, a retired four-star general, has voiced fears felt in senior US military circles about the build-up of forces and missiles in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

The territory, wedged between Poland and Lithuania, became the focus of attention this week when it was announced that Iskander ballistic missiles, which are short-range and have a nuclear capability, were to be deployed there permanently.