United States President Donald Trump announced that he has ordered two nuclear submarines to be strategically positioned in response to “highly provocative” statements made by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Trump stated that he took the action “just in case these foolish and inflammatory remarks are more than mere words. Words carry significant weight and can lead to unintended consequences; I hope this is not one of those situations.”
He did not disclose the specific locations of the submarines, adhering to U.S. military protocols.
Medvedev had recently issued threats against the U.S. following Trump’s demands for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face severe sanctions.
Both the U.S. and Russia possess the largest nuclear arsenals globally and maintain fleets of nuclear submarines.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “In light of the highly provocative comments made by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is currently the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions.”
The U.S. president did not clarify whether he was referring to nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines in his Truth Social post.
Later that day, while speaking to reporters, Trump remarked: “A threat was made, and we found it inappropriate. Therefore, I must be very cautious. I am acting in the interest of our people’s safety.
A former president of Russia made a threat, and we will protect our citizens.”
The Kremlin has yet to publicly respond to the situation, but Trump’s remarks led to a significant drop in Moscow’s stock market.
Recently, Trump and Medvedev have engaged in a series of personal attacks on social media.
This follows Trump’s ultimatum to current Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war by August 8, a deadline Putin has not indicated he will meet.
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Earlier in the week, Trump had set a “10 or 12” day deadline. In July, he threatened Russia with heavy tariffs on its oil and other exports if Putin did not conclude the war within 50 days.
Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, accused Trump of playing “the ultimatum game with Russia” earlier this week.
In a post on X, Medvedev stated, “Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step toward war.”
He also described Trump’s ultimatum as “theatrical” earlier in July, claiming that “Russia is indifferent.”
In a Telegram post on Thursday, Medvedev warned of a “dead hand” threat, which some military analysts interpreted as a reference to Russia’s system for controlling retaliatory nuclear strikes.
Friday was not the first occasion Trump reacted to Medvedev’s comments; on Thursday, he referred to Medvedev as “the failed former president of Russia who believes he is still in power.”
