NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to "appropriate" points to confront Russia as the war of words between him and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev continues to escalate, spilling over from the digital domain to the real world.
Reacting to Mededev's post on Telegram, Trump said on Truth Social, "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 added, "Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances."
Trump did not say which submarines were being deployed or where.
Their fight started when Mededev posted on X earlier in the week in English that Trump's "each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war" between the US and Russia.
Mededev, who is now the deputy chair of Russia's National Security Council, made his comments in response to Trump shortening the deadline for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine from the original 50 days to ten days, which will end next week.
Trump said that he would shock Moscow with more sanctions and also impose secondary sanctions on countries that buy energy from it, like India, if there was no end to the war by the deadline.
Trump has also said that more sanctions may not have an impact on Russia.
India was inadvertently caught in the crossfire when Trump said on Truth Social on Thursday, before formalising the 25 per cent tariff on India, "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care".
He added in the same post, "Let's ... tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he's still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory"!