Washington [US], August 2 : US President Donald Trump has said that he had "ordered two nuclear submarines" to be strategically positioned near Russia in response to online aggressive remarks by Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev, local media reported.
President Trump said on his social media feed on Friday said, "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.
In a post on his Truth Social, Trump said, "Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Addressing the matter later with reporters, Trump said the move was an effort to be "prepared."
"He was talking about nuclear," Trump said. "When you talk about nuclear, we have to be prepared, and we're totally prepared," CNN quoted him as saying.
Medvedev, who was Russia's president from 2008 to 2012, said in a X post on June 28 that "Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10... 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!"
It was not immediately clear if Trump was referring to subs with nuclear weapon capabilities, or merely nuclear-powered subs. The Pentagon keeps movements of its nuclear capabilities closely held, making it nearly impossible to confirm Trump's announcement.
But his statement nonetheless made for a striking rhetorical confrontation that evoked some of the nuclear sabre rattling that coloured the Cold War, CNN noted.
Trump later Friday said the repositioned nuclear submarines were moved "closer to Russia."
"We always want to be ready, and so I have sent to the region two nuclear submarines. I just want to make sure that his words are only words and nothing more than that," he said in an interview with Newsmax.
Medvedev, who has been sparring with Trump online for the past several days, on Thursday had made reference to Russia's Soviet-era automatic, retaliatory nuclear strike capabilities, after Trump told Medvedev to "watch his words."
The Russian official's in a Telegram post on Thursday wrote that Trump should "revisit his favourite movies about the living dead and recall just how dangerous the mythical 'Dead Hand' can be."
According to a commentary by the NBC News, Russia's so-called Dead Hand system is a secret automatic or semiautomatic nuclear weapons control system developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Medvedev's post seemed to respond to a Trump Truth Social post earlier in the day that said he doesn't care if India and Russia "take their dead economies down together."
"Tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he's still President, to watch his words. He's entering very dangerous territory!" Trump wrote.
CNN reported that Medvedev has no power to launch Russia's nuclear weapons, and often acts as more of an attack dog than a real decision-maker inside the Kremlin.
Trump on Thursday he intended to place new sanctions on Moscow, and called Russia's attacks on Ukraine "disgusting." In an earlier social media message, Trump said the Ukraine war "should have never happened." Trump said Thursday his foreign envoy, Steve Witkoff, would travel to Russia in coming days, but additional details of his trip were not immediately available.
"This is Biden's War, not "TRUMP's." I'm just here to see if I can stop it!" Trump wrote.
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