RUSSIA has reportedly moved a nuclear submarine armed with cruise missiles into the Mediterranean for a NATO showdown over Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin's deadly sub appears to be playing cat and mouse with NATO forces in the waters off the coast of Italy.

According to submarine expert H.I Sutton, open source intelligence suggests Russia has deployed the sub as tensions mount with the West over the Ukraine war.

It's thought the vessel could be Russia's most powerful submarine – the Severodvinsk.

Severodvinsk can carry up to 40 Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles with a range of 1,600 miles – and any of these could be nuclear-tipped.

The sub is the most advanced in the Russian arsenal, with Russian media claiming it has unmatched stealth technology, active anti-torpedo defences and anti-air capability.

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The vessel is understood to have been deployed to replace the Slava class cruiser Marshal Ustinov which left the Med on August 24. 

It's not clear how long the sub has been operating in the area.

According to reports, the submarine might have slipped into the Mediterranean while Ustinov was sailing provocatively in waters near the UK.

Earlier this week, the Royal Navy was said to be shadowing Russian warships off the south coast of Ireland.

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According to Navy sources, the ships are believed to have been supporting the Ukraine war. 

It wasn't clear which route the vessels would take next – but sources said they were "making a point" to Britain that they are close by, The Times reports.

Former captain of a nuclear-powered submarine and commander Ryan Ramsey said: "The Russians have every right to do this but it's definitely posturing and a return to more aggressive Cold War behaviour by them. 

"This might be part of Putin's strategy of pushing Nato in every environment.

"Within this group there will be a Russian hunter-killer but she won't enter the Irish Sea because the tidal stream currents would make it too dangerous."

Ramsey described the current route up the Irish sea as a "cause for concern".

Russia has ramped up its naval presence in the Mediterranean since the invasion of Ukraine in February.

Thibault Lavernhe, regional communication officer of the French army in the Med, said "Russia has doubled, if not tripled, its military capacity in the area" in terms of destroyers, frigates and submarines.

"Ukraine has changed things. The Americans are back. This hasn't been the case since the Cold War," he said.

The Mediterranean is of strategic importance to the world economy – with 65 per cent of EU energy supplies passing through the sea.

Back in April, Levernhe said there were around 20 Russian warships operating in the waters.

The initial build-up of Russian vessels came amid the Syrian civil war when Moscow began deploying warships to the port of Tartus – the Russian navy's sole repair and refuelling base in the Mediterranean.

But Russia's presence has significantly increased amid the Ukraine war, according to military observers.

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Lavernhe said: "Where there are American forces, the Russians are there too.

"Russian ships are positioned to monitor the activity of allied forces."

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