U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he was sending two nuclear submarines to “the appropriate regions” after a senior Russian official posted online about Russia’s nuclear capabilities and a “step towards war” with the U.S.
Trump’s order sharply escalated a social media battle with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council and is one of the most outspoken critics of the U.S. and Ukraine’s western allies.
“I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inappropriate statements are more than just that,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website.
“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.”
Trump and Medvedev have been trading barbs all week after Trump on Monday said Russia had “10 days from today” to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or be hit with tariffs.
That deadline was shortened from a previous timeline of 50 days.
Medvedev posted on X that same day that Trump was playing “a game of ultimatums” and warned “each new ultimatum is a step towards war.”
“Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country,” Medvedev added.
Trump then posted on Truth Social early Thursday that Medvedev should “watch his words” and was “entering very dangerous territory!”
Medvedev said Thursday that Trump’s statement showed Russia should continue with its current policies, including in Ukraine.
“If some words from the former president of Russia trigger such a nervous reaction from the high-and-mighty president of the United States, then Russia is doing everything right and will continue to proceed along its own path,” Medvedev said in a post on Telegram.
Trump should remember, he added, “how dangerous the fabled ‘Dead Hand’ can be,” a reference to a secretive semi-automated Russian command system designed to launch Moscow’s nuclear missiles if its leadership had been taken out in a decapitating strike.
Medvedev ended his post with a crying laughing emoji.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to questions from Global News about what “appropriate regions” the nuclear submarines will be deployed to, and when they might arrive.
The move was the latest sign that Trump, who has been criticized for seeking closer ties with Russia as he tries to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war, is losing patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he resists moving toward a ceasefire.
In a separate post Friday, Trump noted both Russia and Ukraine have lost thousands of soldiers on the battlefield since the beginning of this year alone in what he called “this ridiculous war.”
“That is a lot of unnecessary DEATH!” Trump wrote, while also noting civilian deaths from Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities.
On Thursday, Trump said Russia and India — one of Russia’s biggest oil buyers along with China — “can take their dead economies down together, for all I care” and appeared to sour on restoring U.S. business ties with Moscow.
“We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way,” he said.
—with files from Reuters