[UPDATED: Aug. 2, 12:25 am
, Kyiv time. Trump comments at the White House.]
US President Donald Trump says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to be repositioned in striking distance of “appropriate regions” as a precaution in response to recent “inflammatory statements” from Kremlin officials.
“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 said.
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US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before departing on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on Aug. 1, 2025. (Photo by Alex Raufoglu / White House Press Pool)
This marks the first time since taking office this year that Trump has explicitly threatened nuclear escalation as a consequence of the fallout from Russia’s continued occupation of Ukraine.
He announced the move on his social media platform TruthSocial on Friday afternoon local time, the latest in a war of words between former Russian president and current deputy chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev.
“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences,” Trump wrote. “I hope this will not be one of those instances.”
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The rare repositioning of nuclear submarines, if true, would be the most significant escalation in the response to Russia’s war in Ukraine since the Kremlin launched its full-scale attack almost four years ago.
As a part of the country’s top-secret nuclear arsenal, there is virtually no way to confirm if any submarines or other nuclear-capable hardware have been moved.
In comments to reporters outside the White House later on Friday, Trump said he ordered the sub respositioning as a precaution.
“We just have to be careful,” he said. “A threat was made and we didn’t think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful.”
He added that the situation was a matter of security for the US.
“So I do that on the basis of safety for our people,” he said. “A threat was made by a former president of Russia, and we’re going to protect our people.”
On Thursday, Trump criticized Russia’s “dead” economy and threatened consequences for continuing its war in Ukraine as American officials confirmed the latest Trump-imposed deadline for the Kremlin to make progress towards peace negotiations: Aug. 8.
“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,” he wrote. “Russia and the USA do almost no business together.”
“Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!” he added.
Medvedev appeared to take the message as a provocation in his response later on Thursday.
“About the ‘dead economy’ of India and Russia and the ‘entering dangerous territory,’” Medvedev wrote on Telegram.
“Well, let him remember his favorite movies about ‘the walking dead,’ as well as how dangerous the non-existent in nature ‘dead hand’ can be,” he wrote.
Making clear nuclear threats is exceedingly rare for a sitting American president. The last time Trump brought up the US’s nuclear arsenal as a deterrent was in 2018 in conversations with North Korea, according to The New York Times.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is made available.