NATO is planning “land corridors” to allow US troops and other allied forces to reach the front more quickly in the event of a wider European land war with Russia.

This, according to the media outlet, comes after a warning by NATO leaders earlier this year, urging Western governments to prepare for full-scale war with Russia at some point in the next 20 years.

American troops would land at one of five designated ports along those express corridors. They will then be deployed along pre-determined routes, depending on how the potential attack on Moscow will unfold, NATO officials told “Telegraph”.

The new routes will expand on existing arrangements that have been in place since last year when the alliance agreed to have 300,000 troops on standby during a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Under current plans, the New York Post reports, US forces would land in ports in the Netherlands before moving across Germany and by train to Poland. If Russia attacks the NATO ally, US troops will gather in Rotterdam before heading east, the report said.

Now the alliance is also preparing to change the entry points for those troops in case Russia invades the Netherlands or destroys ports in northern Europe.

Under other plans being developed, US troops would arrive at Italian ports and travel through Slovenia and Croatia to Hungary, which borders Ukraine. The troops could also be sent to Greek or Turkish ports before crossing Bulgaria and Romania to reach the eastern part of the alliance.

According to the additional plans, the soldiers arrive in the ports of the Balkans, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

• Everything is created in such a way that it has the necessary resistance – robustness, reserves, but also surpluses – Lieutenant General of the Joint Support Command (JSEC) Alexander Solfrank told “Telegraph”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped up his rhetoric in recent days after the United States and Germany gave Ukraine the “green light” to use its weapons to attack some targets on Russian soil. On Wednesday, Putin warned that Russia could provide long-range weapons to its allies for use against Western targets and hinted that Moscow would use nuclear weapons if its authority was threatened.