US President Donald Trump has said he has ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in regions near Russia in response to threats from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who said on Thursday that Trump should remember that Moscow had Soviet-era nuclear attack capabilities.
"Based on the very provocative statements of the former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered that two nuclear submarines be positioned in the right regions, in case these stupid and inflammatory statements are more than that. Words are very important and can often lead to unwanted consequences, I hope this will not be one of these cases. Thank you for your attention to this issue," Trump wrote on "Truth Social".
Trump's escalation comes amid a war of words with the former Russian president over Trump's efforts to convince Russia to end its war in Ukraine.
Yesterday, Trump called Medvedev a "failed former president", writing on Truth Social that he should "take his word for it" and that he is "entering very dangerous territory".
Medvedev, who was prime minister of Russia from 2012 to 2020 and is a very vocal supporter of the invasion of Ukraine, has ridiculed Trump's ultimatum to the Kremlin to reach a peace agreement.
"Trump is playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10... He should remember 2 things:
1. Russia is not Israel or even Iran.
2. Every new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war.
Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his country. Don't follow Sleepy Joe's path," Medvedev wrote earlier on Twitter.