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US President Donald Trump said Friday that he has ordered the relocation of two US nuclear submarines close to Russia, based on “a highly provocative statement” by President Dmitry Medvedev.
Trump posted to the Truth Social of his Social Media Platform that he ordered two nuclear submarines to be placed in the right areas.
The president said, “Words are very important and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this is not one such example.”
The development comes after Medvedev warned Trump on Thursday, remembering that Moscow had the Soviet-era nuclear power capabilities of last resort.
Trump did not say he would specify where the submarine would be moved or whether it would mean a nuclear-powered submarine.
It was also not immediately clear how deployment would affect the American submarine fleet, which is a routine patrol of hotspots around the world, but it is a sensitive moment in the relationship between the Trump administration and Moscow.
Trump has urged special envoy Steve Witkov to head to Russia to agree to a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, saying that if he doesn’t make it, he is threatening new economic sanctions.
He recently reduced the action’s first 50-day deadline to 10 days, with the window expired next week.
The post about the sub’s relocation came after Trump posted early on Thursday morning that Medvedev was the “former president of Russia” and warned him to “see his words.”
Medvedev responded a few hours later by writing, “Russia will be right in everything and will continue on its own path.”
Medvedev was president from 2008 to 2012, but Putin was forbidden from seeking a second consecutive term, but he went aside to get him to run again.
Now Putin’s chair, Vice-chairman of the Russian National Security Council, Medvedev, is known since the start of the war in 2022 and since his U-turn from his presidency, when he was considered liberal and progressive.
He frequently exercised nuclear threats and cast shaming on Western leaders on social media.
Some observers argue that due to his extravagant rhetoric, Medvedev is trying to score political points with Putin and the Russian military Hawks.
On July 15th, after Trump announced plans to supply more weapons to Ukraine through NATO allies and threatened additional tariffs on Moscow, Medvedev said, “Trump issued the theatrical ultimate to the Kremlin. The world trembling and hoped for the outcome.
Earlier this week, he wrote, “Trump is playing a 50- or 10-day ultimatum game with Russia,” adding, “Two things to remember: 1. Russia is not Israel or Iran.
Additional sources •AP