The move was in response to ‘provocative statements’ made by a former Russian president, Trump says.
President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he ordered U.S. nuclear submarines to be moved following comments made by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump confirmed he has “ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.”
The move was in response to “highly provocative statements” made by Medvedev, who is currently the deputy chief of Russia’s Security Council, in recent days, the president said.
“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances,” he added.
His post on social media did not include other details about the move, including where the submarines could be located or whether they would be positioned closer to Russia.
The social media announcement came as Trump earlier this week had warned Medvedev after he criticized current U.S. foreign policy on social media.
“I don’t care what India does with Russia,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday morning. “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.”
Trump then added that the United States and Russia “do almost no business together” and said he wants Medvedev “to watch his words” because he is “entering very dangerous territory.”
The comment was made as he said he would impose a 25 percent tariff on India as a penalty for buying Russian weapons and gas, amid a push to negotiate the end of the more than three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, he said he would shorten the timeline to impose more sanctions and other penalties on Russia from 50 days to 10 days, during a press gaggle in Scotland earlier this week.
Responding to Trump’s warning, Medvedev criticized Trump for making ultimatums to the Kremlin.