Donald Trump Moves 2 Nuclear Submarines Closer to Russia After Threat

President Donald Trump is responding to social media warnings made by Dmitry Medvedev.

After a weeklong back-and-forth between the president of the United States and the former Russian president, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Trump said on Truth Social that he repositioned two nuclear submarines.

“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,” he said.

“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances,” his post continued. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

The discourse between Trump and Medvedev began on Monday, July 28, when Medvedev wrote on X 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,” he wrote, referring to former U.S. president Joe Biden.

Medvedev’s post on X came as a response to Trump declaring in Scotland, alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, earlier that same day, that he was cutting his deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a peace deal with Ukraine from 50 days to less than two weeks, per CNBC.

He also warned that they could face big “secondary tariffs” on their trade partners if a peace deal was not met.

Trump similarly condemned Medvedev on Wednesday, July 30, while discussing Russia’s trading partnership with India in a post on Truth Social.

“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. 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,” he said.

“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,” continued Trump.

Medvedev responded to Trump on Telegram, writing, according to Fox News: “If a few words from a former Russian president provoke such a nervous reaction from the supposedly mighty President of the United States, then clearly Russia is in the right – and will continue on its chosen path.”

His statement continued: “As for his remarks about the ‘dead economies’ of India and Russia and ‘venturing into dangerous territory,’ perhaps he should revisit his favorite movies about the living dead and recall just how dangerous the mythical ‘Dead Hand’ can be.”  

The “Dead Hand” refers to Russia’s system for automatically launching nuclear strikes.

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PEOPLE has reached out to the White House for comment.