Trump has deployed nuclear-capable submarines to the “appropriate regions” in response to a threatening tweet by Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev, suggesting that he might be ready to launch a nuclear strike as tensions rise over the Ukraine war. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that he had decided to reposition the nuclear submarines because of “highly provocative statements” by Medvedev, noting he was now the deputy chairman of Russia’s security council. Medvedev had earlier said that Trump’s threats to sanction Russia and a recent ultimatum were “a threat and a step towards war.” Trump did not specify whether he was referring to nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines.
Medvedev had attacked Trump for shortening his timeline for Russia to make progress toward peace with Ukraine from 50 days down to just 10, saying that he was ready to impose sanctions and other financial penalties against Russia if it didn’t comply. Trump has voiced frustration with Putin, who he said had been stalling on Trump’s efforts to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Putin has periodically claimed to be interested in peace, but only on terms wholly unacceptable to Kyiv. Last week, the third round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Istanbul, but broke up in less than an hour and have so far led to no agreements except on prisoner exchanges.
