Trump's clumsy nuclear rhetoric shows he still has no strategy to deal with Putin
As with Trump's other comments on Russia, the vague statement raised more questions than answers. Trump claimed he ordered two nuclear submarines (without specifying whether that meant nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered) to be positioned 'in the appropriate regions' (without explaining why they would have been somewhere inappropriate to start with).
All of which came in response to a taunt containing a reference to The Walking Dead and a laughing emoji on social media from Dmitry Medvedev, once president of Russia but now enjoying a public persona more akin to a court jester.
Trump's secretary of state Marco Rubio seems confident that Medvedev is 'not a relevant player in Russian politics', and yet his trolling has supposedly triggered a change in American nuclear posture. As with so much else in Trumpworld, the explanation probably lies elsewhere.
It's true that Trump's verbal outbursts criticising Moscow have become more frequent recently – and that this marks a startling turnaround from his earlier inclination to blame Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Russia having invaded his country.
But despite the latest claims, there's still no indication that Trump is willing to follow words with meaningful action.
The latest arbitrary deadline for Vladimir Putin to take unspecified action towards ending Russia's war on Ukraine, followed by an equally arbitrary bringing forward of the deadline, suggest there is no coherent plan for putting pressure on Moscow. Instead, when setting dates, Trump appears to be plucking random numbers from the air and then changing them with no warning, in the same manner as when setting the United States's global trade policy.
With the submarine comment, Trump has discovered another means of appearing 'tough on Russia' without actually doing anything that would be of any concern to Moscow – and there are plenty of other reasons why he might be seeking headlines that suggest he is taking a firmer line with Putin.
Namely, that Trump needs distractions at the moment. His best efforts to keep his relationship with sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell out of the headlines, and prevent the release of any material from their criminal case that may implicate Trump personally, have been counterproductive.
And the effects of his economic policies are starting to dawn on even those sections of the American public that still believe he has their best interests at heart.
With prices rising rapidly amid uncertainty triggered by Trump's chaotic tariff policy, it is becoming harder to maintain upbeat messaging on the economy – and last week also saw the release of employment statistics so bad that Trump felt compelled to shoot the messenger who delivered them, by firing the head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics.
This, and moving submarines in response to an insult from a Russian politician who throws them for a living, unfortunately fits Trump's style of governing through outbursts and rants in response to perceived slights more than through clear and considered policy.
But whatever the reasons for that, the net effect is that once again, Trump has taken every possible step to pressure Russia short of actually doing something.
In fact, he has succeeded in preventing action that Russia would dislike: Trump's notional deadline for Putin to do something successfully headed off an initiative by Senate Republicans to push through a package of secondary sanctions that would have caused genuine headaches for Moscow, not to mention a proposal for sanctions on China for supporting Russia's war.
That's one reason among many why Russia felt the Trump submarine claim, which, if made by any other US president, would have been a significant and dramatic move, could be calmly ignored.
Whatever Trump's latest verbal salvo at Moscow may be, there's one thing it isn't: a strategy for dealing with Russia, let alone a sensible or coherent one. Vladimir Putin and those around him will no doubt continue to watch Trump's moves closely; but perhaps as much out of curiosity as of concern as to what he will do next.
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The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump ‘open to' Zelensky attending Alaska summit with Putin
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In his evening address on Saturday, Zelensky said Russia must face consequences for its invasion, pointing to the West's failure to punish Moscow after the 2014 annexation of Crimea as a mistake that led to wider war.' Putin was allowed to take Crimea, and this led to the occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk... Now Putin wants to be forgiven for seizing even more,' Zelensky said. 'We will not allow this second Russian attempt to divide Ukraine. Where there is a second, there will be a third.' His statement comes ahead of a planned 15 August summit in Alaska between Donald Trump and Putin, where the two are expected to discuss a possible ceasefire plan, which would reportedly see Russia halt hostilities in return for Ukraine handing over its eastern territories. Shahana Yasmin
Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
Ukraine drone attack kills one, damages industrial facility in Saratov, Russia says
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The Guardian
23 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: European leaders urge pressure on Russia ahead of Trump-Putin talks
European leaders stressed the need to keep pressure on Moscow and protect Ukrainian and European security interests after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin arranged to meet in Alaska next week. A joint statement from French, Italian, German, Polish, British and Finnish leaders and the president of the European commission welcomed the move but noted that the 'path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine' and that negotiations could take place only in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities. It added: 'only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed'. They also said a resolution 'must protect Ukraine's and Europe's vital security interests', including 'the need for robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity'. US vice-president JD Vance met British foreign secretary David Lammy and representatives of Ukraine and European allies on Saturday at Chevening House, a country mansion south-east of London, to discuss Trump's push for peace. A European official confirmed a counterproposal was put forward by European representatives at the Chevening meeting but declined to provide details. The Wall Street Journal said European officials had presented a counterproposal that included demands that a ceasefire must take place before any other steps are taken and that any territory exchange must be reciprocal, with firm security guarantees. 'You can't start a process by ceding territory in the middle of fighting,' it quoted one European negotiator as saying. The White House did not immediately respond when asked about the European counterproposals. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday rejected the idea that his country would give up land to end the war with Russia after Trump suggested a peace deal could include 'some swapping of territories.' Zelenskyy said Ukraine 'will not give Russia any awards for what it has done' and that 'Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.' Later, Zelenskyy called the Chevening meeting constructive: 'All our arguments were heard,' he said in his evening address to Ukrainians. 'The path to peace for Ukraine should be determined together and only together with Ukraine, this is key principle.' French leader Emmanuel Macron stressed the need for Ukraine to play a role in any negotiations: 'Ukraine's future cannot be decided without the Ukrainians, who have been fighting for their freedom and security for over three years now,' he wrote on X after what he said were calls with Zelenskyy, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Starmer. 'Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution, as their own security is at stake.' On Saturday two people died and 16 were wounded when a Russian drone hit a minibus in the suburbs of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Two others died after a Russian drone struck their car in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov. Ukraine's air force said it intercepted 16 of the 47 Russian drones launched overnight, while 31 drones hit targets across 15 different locations. It also said it shot down one of the two missiles Russia deployed. Russia's defence ministry said its air defences shot down 97 Ukrainian drones over Russia and the Black Sea overnight and 21 more on Saturday morning.
