KEY POINTS
- Russia urges restraint in nuclear rhetoric after Trump said he would deploy two submarines.
- Ukraine’s top officials backed Trump’s stance, citing “peace through strength.”
- Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, to visit Moscow this week for Ukraine ceasefire talks.
MOSCOW: Russia on Monday urged caution in nuclear discourse after US President Donald Trump said he would deploy two nuclear submarines following a heated online exchange with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.
Trump said he had ordered the deployment in response to what he alleged were “highly provocative” comments by Medvedev, saying the submarines would be positioned in “appropriate regions”.
Trump did not say whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the locations, which are kept secret by the US military.
“Russia is very attentive to the topic of nuclear non-proliferation. And we believe that everyone should be very, very cautious with nuclear rhetoric,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
The row between Medvedev and Trump erupted against the backdrop of the US leader’s ultimatum for Russia to end its military offensive in Ukraine or face fresh economic sanctions, including on its remaining trading partners.
Medvedev accused Trump of “playing the ultimatum game” and said that Trump “should remember” that Russia was a formidable force.
“Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country,” he said.
Medvedev, who has not posted on social media since the spat, is currently the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council.
He served one term as president from 2008 to 2012, effectively acting as a placeholder for Putin, who was able to circumvent constitutional term limits and remain in power.
The chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday backed Trump’s actions.
“The concept of peace through strength works,” Andriy Yermak wrote on social media.
“The moment American nuclear submarines appeared, one Russian drunk — who had just been threatening nuclear war on X — suddenly went silent,” Zelensky stated.
Trump’s envoy to visit Moscow
Meanwhile, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Russia later this week, in a bid to secure an elusive ceasefire deal.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that Witkoff will travel to Moscow on either Wednesday or Thursday. “I think next week, Wednesday or Thursday”.
The visit comes amid building frustration in the White House, with six months of diplomacy under Trump having failed to achieve a peace deal or even a ceasefire.
The Kremlin said on Monday that it was anticipating “important” talks with Witkoff later this week. Witkoff is expected to meet President Vladimir Putin.
Russia, in its first comments on the deployment, urged “caution”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already met Witkoff multiple times in Moscow, before Trump’s efforts to mend ties with the Kremlin came to a grinding halt.
When reporters asked what Witkoff’s message would be to Moscow, and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid the sanctions, Trump replied: “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”
The Kremlin said another meeting with Putin was possible and that it considered talks with Witkoff to be “important, substantial and helpful”.
‘Secondary tariffs’
Trump has previously threatened that new measures could mean “secondary tariffs” targeting Russia’s remaining trade partners. This would risk significant international disruption.
Putin said on Friday that he wants peace but that his demands for ending the Ukraine war were “unchanged”.
“We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,” Putin told reporters.
But he added that “the conditions (from the Russian side) certainly remain the same”.
Russia has frequently called on Ukraine to effectively cede control of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable.
Putin also wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join NATO.
