Summary
- Trump ordered two nuclear submarines deployed near
Russia. - Response to provocative statements by ex-Russian
President Medvedev. - Deployment locations kept secret by US military
authorities. - Trump warned words can lead to unintended consequences.
- Medvedev threatened nuclear strike amid rising Ukraine
war tensions.
Trump said he had made the decision to move the
nuclear submarines due to Medvedev’s “extremely provocative remarks”
in a post on Truth Social on Friday. He also mentioned that Medvedev was now
the deputy chairman of Russia’s security council.
Trump’s recent ultimatum and threats to impose
sanctions on Russia were previously described by Medvedev as “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.”
Medvedev is also a big admirer of X, formerly
Twitter, where he frequently writes harsh and oddly worded assaults against
western nations and leaders in the evenings in Moscow. Medvedev was
marginalized when Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in 2012.
Medvedev had criticized Trump earlier this week
for cutting his deadline for Russia to bring about peace with Ukraine from 50
days to only 10 days, threatening to slap sanctions and other financial
penalties on 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.
Trump has expressed his annoyance at Putin,
claiming that the Russian leader has been impeding his attempts to broker a
truce between Russia and Ukraine, which he said he could accomplish in a day.
He called Russia’s ongoing attacks on civilian areas “disgusting” on
Thursday.
“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.
Trump’s ultimatum has not received a response
from Putin. After a week in which Russian drones and missiles once more killed
people and destroyed property around Ukraine, he stated on Friday that he
sought a “lasting and stable peace” in the country but made no indication that
he was prepared to make any compromises to get there.
“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.
On occasion, Putin has stated that he is
interested in peace, but only on conditions that Kyiv finds completely
unacceptable. The third round of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine
was held in Istanbul last week, but it ended in less than an hour and hasn’t
produced any agreements other than those pertaining to 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.”
What prompted Trump to publicly deploy nuclear
submarines over Medvedev’s statements?
US President Donald Trump publicly announced the
deployment of two nuclear submarines in response to “highly
provocative” and “foolish and inflammatory” statements made by
Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev.
Medvedev had made comments alluding to Russia’s
Cold War-era nuclear strike system (“Dead Hand”) and criticized
Trump’s ultimatums over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, warning that escalating
rhetoric could lead to war not just between Russia and Ukraine but between
Trump and his own country. Trump framed the submarine deployment as a
precaution “just in case these statements are more than just that,”
emphasizing that “words are very important” and can lead to
unintended consequences.
