Donald Trump says US nuclear submarines are being repositioned in response to “provocative statements” from Russia’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev.<\/p>\n
In a Truth Social post on Friday, local time, the US president wrote:<\/p>\n
“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, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.<\/p>\n
“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.”<\/p>\n
He later told reporters at the White House he had ordered the submarines be moved “on the basis of safety for our people”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“A threat was made by a former president of Russia, and we’re going to protect our people,” he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Medvedev, who is close to President Vladimir Putin, has recently been mocking Mr Trump on social media.<\/p>\n
After Mr Trump said he was giving Russia a 10-day deadline to agree to a peace deal in Ukraine earlier this week, Mr Medvedev accused Mr Trump of taking a “step towards war”.<\/p>\n
In an X post on Monday, he wrote:<\/p>\n
“Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10\u2026 He should remember 2 things:<\/p>\n
1. Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran.<\/p>\n
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!”<\/p>\n
Mr Medvedev is seen as a hardline, anti-West attack dog for Mr Putin. He frequently makes inflammatory statements about the US and Ukraine, sometimes featuring implicit or explicit threats of nuclear escalation.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Mr Trump used social media to tell Mr Medvedev he was entering “very dangerous territory” and he should “watch his words”.<\/p>\n
In recent weeks, Mr Trump has expressed increasing frustration with his efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Several weeks ago, he said he was giving Russia a 50-day deadline<\/a> to agree to a deal. On Monday, while visiting Scotland, he said he was shortening that deadline<\/a>. On his flight back to the US on Tuesday, he said the deadline was “10 days from today”.<\/p>\n He has threatened economic penalties, including secondary sanctions on Russia’s trading partners, if it does not comply.<\/p>\n In the days since, Russia has continued its attacks on Ukraine. On Thursday, it launched its worst air strike on Kyiv for the year<\/a>, firing more than 300 drones and eight missiles into the capital. At least 31 people were killed and more than 150 wounded.<\/p>\n Neither the Pentagon nor the White House have provided further details about Mr Trump’s comments regarding the submarine movements.\u00a0<\/p>\n The US Navy’s nuclear submarines are nuclear-powered, but not all are nuclear-armed.<\/p>\n