Donald Trump has said that he has deployed nuclear-capable submarines to the “appropriate regions” in response to a threatening tweet by Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev, suggesting that he would be ready to launch a nuclear strike as tensions rise over the war in Ukraine.
In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote that he had decided to reposition the nuclear submarines because of “highly provocative statements” by Medvedev, noting he was now the deputy chairman of Russia’s security council.
Medvedev had earlier said that Trump’s threats to sanction Russia and a recent ultimatum were “a threat and a step towards war”.
“I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,” Trump responded. “Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.”
He did not specify whether he was referring to nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines.
Medvedev, who was sidelined when Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in 2012, is also an avid fan of X, formerly Twitter, where he often posts aggressive and curiously worded attacks against western countries and leaders in the evening in Moscow.
Earlier this week, Medvedev had attacked Trump for shortening his timeline for Russia to make progress toward peace with Ukraine from 50 days down to just 10, saying that he was ready to impose sanctions and other financial penalties against Russia if it didn’t comply.
“Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10,” Medvedev wrote in a post. “He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.
“Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe road!” he added, referring to the former US president Joe Biden.
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Trump has voiced frustration with Putin, who he said had been stalling on Trump’s efforts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, a campaign promise that he said that he could achieve in just 24 hours. On Thursday he described Russia’s continued attacks on civilian areas as “disgusting”.
“I go home. I tell the first lady, ‘You know, I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation.’ She said, ‘Oh, really? Another city was just hit,’” he said in at the White House last month.
Putin has not responded to Trump’s ultimatum. On Friday, he said he wanted a “lasting and stable peace” in Ukraine but gave no indication that he was willing to make any concessions to achieve it, after a week in which Russian missiles and drones again caused death and destruction across Ukraine.
“We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,” said Putin, speaking to journalists on Friday, a week before a new deadline imposed by Trump for hostilities to cease.
Putin has periodically claimed to be interested in peace, but only on terms wholly unacceptable to Kyiv. Last week, the third round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul, but broke up in less than an hour and have so far led to no agreements except on prisoner exchanges.
In an apparent reference to Trump’s comments, Putin said on Friday: “As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule.”
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