Moscow - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday said modernization of the country's nuclear forces was imperative in part because of the threat of NATO's eastward expansion, Russian news agencies reported.

"Attempts to spread NATO's military infrastructure along Russia's borders have not stopped," Medvedev said at a Defence Ministry meeting. "All of this requires a high-level modernization of our military forces.

"This improvement of the armies' battle readiness must first of all impact our strategic nuclear forces," he was quoted by news agency Interfax as saying.

Medvedev's comments come as Russia announced a sweeping military reform of the armed forces that have languished since the fall of the Soviet Union with outdated equipment and top-heavy command structures.

But the shrinking budget amid the financial crisis has called into question the army reforms, and defence analysts say many of the military's top brass block the modernization that would make thousands of officers and soldiers redundant.

In spite of the financial crisis, "our agenda today is to transform all branches of the army to a state of constant battle readiness," Medvedev said Tuesday.

Russia vehemently opposes NATO enlargement to include post-Soviet neighbors, such as Ukraine and Georgia, that it has traditionally seen as a friendly beltway between it and the foreign military bloc.

Relations between NATO and the alliance crisped to their lowest point since the Cold War in August over Russia's brief occupation of Georgia, which many have said was motivated in part by that countries strengthening ties with NATO. (dpa)