Trump orders US nuclear subs repositioned over ex-Russian leader's statements
US President Donald Trump said he is ordering the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines in a warning to Russia (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
US President Donald Trump said he is ordering the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines in a warning to Russia.
The move is 'based on highly provocative statements' from the country's former president Dmitry Medvedev.
Mr Trump posted on his social media site that based on the 'highly provocative statements' from Mr Medvedev he had 'ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that'.
US President Donald Trump said he is ordering the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines in a warning to Russia (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1
The president added: 'Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.'
It was not immediately clear what impact Mr Trump's order would have on US nuclear subs, which are routinely on patrol in the world's hotspots, but it comes at a delicate moment in the Trump administration's relations with Moscow.
Mr Trump has said that special envoy Steve Witkoff is heading to Russia to push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in its war with Ukraine and has threatened new economic sanctions if progress is not made.
He cut his 50-day deadline for action to 10 days, with that window set to expire next week.
The post about the sub repositioning came after Mr Trump, in the wee hours of Thursday morning, had posted that Mr Medvedev was a 'failed former president of Russia' and warned him to 'watch his words'.
Mr Medvedev responded hours later by writing: 'Russia is right on everything and will continue to go its own way.'
Mr Medvedev was president from 2008 to 2012 while Russian President Vladimir Putin was barred from seeking a second consecutive term but stepped aside to let him run again.
Now deputy chairman of Russia's National Security Council, which Mr Putin chairs, Mr Medvedev has been known for his provocative and inflammatory statements since the start of the war in 2022, a U-turn from his presidency, when he was seen as liberal and progressive.
He has frequently wielded nuclear threats and lobbed insults at Western leaders on social media.
Some observers have argued that with his extravagant rhetoric, Mr Medvedev is seeking to score political points with Mr Putin and Russian military hawks.
Mr Trump and Mr Medvedev have gotten into online spats before.
On July 15, after Mr Trump announced plans to supply Ukraine with more weapons via its Nato allies and threatened additional tariffs against Moscow, Mr Medvedev posted, 'Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn't care'.
Earlier this week, he wrote: 'Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10″ and added, 'He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
7 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Trump gushes over Karoline Leavitt: ‘It's that face, it's that brain, it's those lips, the way they move'
The president gave the unorthodox compliments during a Friday interview with Newsmax in response to Leavitt's claim that he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his alleged success since returning to office. 'She's become a star. It's that face. It's that brain. It's those lips, the way they move. They move like she's a machine gun,' Trump said. 'She's a great person, actually. But she's – I don't think anybody has ever had a better press secretary than Karoline. She's been amazing.' The 27-year-old is Trump's fifth press secretary overall, though remains the only one from his second term so far. At a White House Press briefing Thursday, Leavitt praised Trump in a similarly effusive fashion. 'President Trump has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office,' she claimed. 'It's well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.' Social media was quick to react to the president's comments during his Newsmax sit-down, with some accusing him of being 'creepy.' 'This definitely sounds like something Jeffrey Epstein's best friend would say,' one user wrote, referring to the ongoing furor surrounding the president and his connection to the deceased pedophile financier. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said that he and Epstein had cut ties many years before allegations of sex-trafficking were made against the financier. 'Will ANYONE in the MSM ask him or the White House about this incredibly bizarre, creepy, cringey comment? Of course not,' wrote one user. 'It's amazing how his 'super Christian-y' base just love that he's such a creepy old pervert,' added another. A third wrote: 'If any man said this on the job about a fellow employee, they'd be fired instantly, and the company sued.'
RTÉ News
35 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Ukraine says it hit Russian oil facilities, military airfield
Ukraine's military has said it had struck oil facilities inside Russia, including a major refinery as well as a military airfield for drones and an electronics factory. In a statement on Telegram, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) said they had hit the oil refinery in Ryazan, about 180km southeast of Moscow, causing a fire on its premises. Also hit, the USF said, was the Annanefteprodukt oil storage facility in the Voronezh region that borders on north eastern Ukraine. The statement did not specify how the facilities were hit, but the USF specialises in drone warfare, including long-range strikes. There was no immediate comment from Russia on the reported attacks on its infrastructure sites. Separately, Ukraine's SBU intelligence agency said its drones had hit Russia's Primorsko-Akhtarsk military airfield, which has been used to launch waves of long-range drones at targets in Ukraine. The SBU said it also hit a factory in Penza that it said supplies Russia's military-industrial complex with electronics. At the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022,Ukraine had no response to Moscow's vast long-range strike capacity but it has since built up a fleet of long-range kamikaze drones able to carry explosive warheads for many hundreds of kilometres. Russia's defence ministry said in its daily report that its defence units had downed a total of 338 Ukrainian drones overnight. Its reports do not say how many Ukrainian drones were launched at any given time. For its part, Ukraine's air force said it had downed 45 of 53 Russian drones launched towards its territory overnight. On Ukraine's eastern battlefront, Russia's defence ministry said, Russian forces had captured the village of Oleksandro-Kalynove in the Donetsk region today. Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield report. Russian forces now control almost 20% of Ukraine in its east and south after three-and-a-half years of grinding war. A fire that broke out near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant after Ukrainian shelling has been brought under control, the Russian-installed administration of the Russia-held plant in Ukraine said. Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant in the first weeks of Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Both sides have accused each other of firing or taking other actions that could trigger a nuclear accident. The plant's administration said on Telegram that a civilian had been killed in the shelling, but that no plant employees or members of the emergency services had been injured. Reuters could not independently verify the Russian report. The station, Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, is not operating but still requires power to keep its nuclear fuel cool. The plant's Russia-installed management said radiation levels remained within normal levels and the situation was under control.
The Journal
6 hours ago
- The Journal
Brazilians burn effigies of Donald Trump over punishing new tariff
BRAZILIANS HAVE SET fire to effigies of US President Donald Trump in protests across several cities today, denouncing his new tariffs. Anti-Trump protests were held in Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro after he decided to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian exports and to sanction a Brazilian judge. Trump openly admitted he is punishing Brazil for prosecuting his political ally, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro. Far-right politician Bolsonaro is currently on trial for plotting a coup after failing to win re-election in 2022. Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil's congress in January 2023, ransacking the chambers and attacking police, in scenes reminiscent of Trump supporters' attack on the US Capitol two years before on 6 January 2021. A Brazilian general has given evidence that the alleged plotters also wanted to assassinate leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and several other public officials. Advertisement Trump has called the trial a 'witch hunt' and his Treasury Department has sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in response, who is the presiding judge in the coup trial of Bolsonaro. Trump also signed an executive order slapping 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports, which is due to enter into force on August 6. Demonstrators at the Sao Paolo protest today Alamy Alamy Moraes, in a rare public address, said today he pledged to 'continue working' despite Trump's efforts to punish him. 'This Court, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Federal Police will not bow to these threats,' he said during a court session. And he vowed the court would remain 'absolutely uncompromising in defending national sovereignty and its commitment to democracy'. © AFP 2025
