Barack Obama’s decision to scrap Bush-era plans for a missile defence shield on Thursday triggered dismay in central Europe and among Republicans on Capitol Hill, amid claims that it amounted to a major security concession to Russia.

Unveiling one of the biggest reversals on national security since coming to office, the US president said that he would abandon predecessor George W. Bush’s plans for ground-based interceptors in Poland and a related radar site in the Czech Republic, deploying instead a new system that could hit shorter-range Iranian missiles.