President Donald Trump has ordered two nuclear submarines to be repositioned after what he called ‘foolish and inflammatory statements’ from Russia.
Trump announced his command on Friday, citing ‘highly provocative statements’ from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
‘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,’ wrote Trump on his Truth Social platform.
‘Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.
‘Thank you for your attention to this matter!’
Trump did not disclose where he sent the submarines, as is military protocol to keep such information secret.
It was the first time that Trump has mentioned the US’s nuclear arsenal and ordered it to move.
Medvedev on Thursday raised on social media the Soviet Union’s system for launching an automatic nuclear strike and told Trump to envision TV series The Walking Dead.
The escalation comes after Trump on July 14 pledged to impose ‘severe sanctions’ on Russia and send more weapons to Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin did not agree to a ceasefire deal within 50 days.
Earlier this week, Medvedev bashed Trump’s 50-day on X (formerly Twitter), writing, ‘Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war.’
The Kremlin did not immediately comment on Trump’s new submarines deployment.
Trump later on Friday elaborated on his post while speaking to reporters.
‘A threat was made, and we didn’t think it was appropriate. So I have to be very careful,’ he said.
‘I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia. And we’re going to protect our people.’
Trump had warned Medvedev on Thursday to ‘watch his words’ and said ‘he’s entering very dangerous territory!’
The US president’s tune toward Russia in recent weeks has changed to a more aggressive and far less friendly. In early July, he complained that Putin was providing little but ‘bulls***’ in stagnant peace talks.
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