Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump moves nuclear submarines in response to Russian ex-president’s ‘foolish’ threats
Donald Trump has sent two nuclear submarines “near Russia” after former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev threatened the US with a nuclear strike.
Mr Trump said he was ordering the American vessels to the “appropriate regions” due to the “highly provocative statements of the former president of Russia”.
Mr Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, told the US president to remember Moscow had Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities after Mr Trump threatened further sanctions over the Ukraine war.
Mr Trump said the move was a precautionary measure “just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.”
Mr Medvedev has frequently wielded nuclear threats and lobbed insults at Western leaders on social media since Vladimir Putin illegally invaded Ukraine in 2022.
It is not clear if Mr Trump was referring to Washington’s Ohio-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines or the nuclear-powered Los Angeles and Virginia–class fast-attack boats.
Both the ballistic missile and fast-attack boats are nuclear powered, but only the Ohio-class missile submarines are known to carry nuclear weapons.
