US President Donald Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to be deployed to “appropriate regions” in response to “highly provocative” remarks made by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Donald Trump warned that “words are very important and can often lead to unintended consequences,” cautioning that Dmitry Medvedev’s incendiary statements could incite action.
“I hope this will not be one of those instances,” Donald Trump said, adding, “Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev… 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.”
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The post marks a dramatic escalation in the war of words between Donald Trump and Dmitry Medvedev that began this week when the US President described India and Russia as having “dead economies” and threatened steep new tariffs on Indian imports over its continued purchase of Russian energy.
‘Dead Economies’ To ‘Dead Hand’
Dmitry Medvedev retaliated by invoking the “Dead Hand”- a Cold War-era Soviet automatic nuclear retaliation system designed to launch missiles if Russia’s leadership were incapacitated in a strike.
“As for the talk about the ‘dead economies’ of India and Russia… maybe [Trump] should recall his favourite movies about ‘the walking dead,’ and also remember how dangerous the so-called ‘Dead Hand,’ which doesn’t even exist, could be,” Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram.
The feud boiled over after Donald Trump gave Ukraine a drastically shortened ceasefire deadline, slashing the window from 50 days to just under two weeks. Dmitry Medvedev warned that such ultimatums were drawing the US closer to full-scale war. Donald Trump doubled down, ridiculing Dmitry Medvedev as a “failed former President of Russia” and warning him to “watch his words.”
The standoff comes amid Donald Trump’s increasingly hardline stance toward BRICS nations- including India- for continuing oil trade with Russia. In a separate post, Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on Indian imports, arguing that the BRICS alliance represents a threat to the US dollar and global stability.