Boris Johnson is to double the number of British troops facing down Vladimir Putin ’s forces massing on Ukraine’s borders.
That will bring our total contingent in neighbouring countries to 2,300 to reinforce NATOs Eastern and Northern flanks as 100,000 Russian troops threaten invasion.
And in a worrying escalation deep fire rocket launchers are to be sent to Estonia and a Type 45 frigate and patrol boat to the Black Sea pitching them into potential conflict with Russian warships.
RAF Typhoons will patrol the skies above Romania and Bulgaria which the West believes President Putin is also threatening as part of his campaign to stop NATO expansion.
UK defence officials will fly to Brussels this week to finalise details of the package which also includes Apache helicopters in the Baltic. America is to send a further 8,500 troops to the region.
Mr Johnson said: “This will send a clear message to the Kremlin – we will not tolerate their destabilising activity.
“And we will always stand with our NATO allies in the face Russian hostility.
“If President Putin chooses a path of bloodshed and destruction, it will be a tragedy for Europe. Ukraine must be free to choose its own future.”
But Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the West to calm down because the threat of war is wrecking his country’s economy. He added: “This is panic.”
US President Joe Biden said he expects a Russian invasion next month - but Mr Putin repeated denials he is planning to push into Ukraine.
Mr Johnson will go to Eastern Europe this week and hopes to travel to Moscow for a face-to-face in a bid to stop war erupting.
If that is not possible he will speak to Mr Putin on the phone.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will travel to Ukraine this week before heading to Russia next week.
She said on Sunday that on a tougher sanctions regime will be announced this week to hit a wider variety of targets.
Ms Truss told Sky News' Trevor Phillips there will be "nowhere to hide for Putin's oligarchs" propping up the Russian state.
Asked whether properties in London owned by Russian oligarchs could be seized, she said: "Nothing is off the table."
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is also on standby to go to Moscow.
Mr Wallace will also visit Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Croatia to speak to his counterparts there.
Mr Johnson added: “I have ordered our armed forces to prepare to deploy across Europe ensuring we are able to support our NATO allies on land, at sea and in the air.”
An RAF squadron is being sent to Cyprus to cover Romanian and Bulgarian airspace.
Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, will be at Cabinet on Tuesday to brief ministers on the latest developments.
The UK currently has more than 900 British troops in Estonia, 100 in Ukraine and a 150-strong Light Cavalry Squadron in Poland.
Special forces trainers are now in Ukraine along with 2,000 anti-tank missiles sent out from the UK.
Carrier HMS Prince of Wales, in the Arctic leading NATO’s Maritime High Readiness Force, is ready to move to the region at short notice if called upon.
Non-essential British Embassy staff and their families were withdawn from Ukrainian capital Kyiv last week.
Russia faces severe economic sanctions if it does launch an invasion and MPs will be updated on those plans on Monday.
