U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he has directed two nuclear submarines to be sent in retaliation for what he called "highly provocative" comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, raising the stakes in a heated exchange of threats between the two leaders.
"Following on from the extremely incendiary words of the ex-President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev. I have instructed two Nuclear Submarines to be stationed in the correct areas, just in case these stupid and inflammatory words are more than they appear to be," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He continued, "Words mean a great deal, and can sometimes produce unintended outcomes, I hope this will not be one of those occasions."
The standoff deepened after Trump's Thursday comments, in which he denounced both Russia and India for their economic relationships, stating, "The two countries can take their 'dead economies' down together."
Trump also went after Medvedev in a personal manner: "Russia and the USA do practically no business with each other. Let it stay that way, and inform Medvedev, Russia's failed former President who still thinks he is President, to be careful what he says. He is getting into very troubled waters."
Medvedev, who is now Russia's deputy chairman of the Security Council, quickly hit back, cautioning Trump against playing games of ultimatums. "Every new ultimatum is a threat and a move towards war. Not between Ukraine and Russia, but with his nation," Medvedev claimed.
He charged Trump with irresponsibly ramping up tensions, saying the U.S. leader was behaving as if Russia was "Israel or even Iran" and reminded him that Moscow still had its Cold War-era "Perimeter" nuclear response system — nicknamed "Dead Hand" in the West. This is said to be an automatic system that would ensure a retaliatory blow if there were a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union.
Medvedev also condemned Trump's reduced timeline for ending the Ukraine war. Trump originally threatened to place 100% tariffs on Russian and Russian-aligned goods within 50 days unless an agreement was made. He then reduced the deadline to 10 days.
Moscow has so far shown no signs of yielding to Trump’s demands or timeline. The Kremlin has reiterated its own conditions for peace in Ukraine, which remain far from alignment with U.S. expectations.
Medvedev has gained notoriety in recent years for his inflammatory, anti-Western rhetoric. While some in the West view him as an unreliable firebrand, others suggest his comments reflect deeper thinking among Russia’s power elite.
