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Trump moves nuclear submarines after ex-Russian president's comments | Trump moves nuclear submarines after ex-Russian president's comments |
(30 minutes later) | |
US President Donald Trump says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to "be positioned in the appropriate regions" in response to "highly provocative" comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. | US President Donald Trump says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to "be positioned in the appropriate regions" in response to "highly provocative" comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. |
Trump said he acted "just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances". | Trump said he acted "just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances". |
He did not say where the two submarines were being deployed, in-keeping with US military protocol. | |
Medvedev has recently threatened the US in response to Trump's ultimatums to Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, or face tough sanctions. | Medvedev has recently threatened the US in response to Trump's ultimatums to Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine, or face tough sanctions. |
Russia and the US possess the most nuclear arms in the world. | Russia and the US possess the most nuclear arms in the world. |
Trump did not say whether he was referring to nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines in his post on Truth Social. | |
In the post, the US president wrote: "Based on the highly provocative statements of the former president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions". | In the post, the US president wrote: "Based on the highly provocative statements of the former president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions". |
Trump and Medvedev have recently been involved in a series of personal attacks against each other on social media. | Trump and Medvedev have recently been involved in a series of personal attacks against each other on social media. |
It comes after Trump set a new deadline for Putin to bring the war to an end by 8 August - which Putin has shown no signs of doing. | |
Before that on Monday, Trump had set a "10 or 12" day deadline. Earlier in July he threatened Russia with severe tariffs targeting its oil and other exports if Putin did not end the war in 50 days. | |
Medvedev accused Trump of playing "the ultimatum game with Russia" earlier this week. | |
In a post on X, he said "each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war". | In a post on X, he said "each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war". |
He also described Trump's ultimatum as "theatrical" earlier in July, saying that "Russia didn't care". | |
Writing on Telegram on Thursday, Medvedev warned of a "dead hand" threat - which some military analysts understood as a reference to the codename of Russia's retaliatory nuclear strikes control system. | |
Friday wasn't the first time Trump responded to Medvedev's comments. On Thursday, he described Medvedev as "the failed former president of Russia, who thinks he's still president". | |
Trump also warned Medvedev to "watch his words", adding that "he's entering very dangerous territory!" | Trump also warned Medvedev to "watch his words", adding that "he's entering very dangerous territory!" |
Medvedev supports Russia's war in Ukraine and is an outspoken critic of the West. | |
He was Russia's president from 2008 to 2012, and now serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council. |