Latest news with #Dmitry Medvedev
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Jokes About Building Nuclear Missiles During White House Roof Walk
He paved over the White House Rose Garden, installed giant American flags on the north and south lawns and announced plans for a brand new Mar-a-Lago-inspired ballroom. But President Donald Trump raised quite a few eyebrows on Tuesday when he joked about his next big building project: nuclear missiles. The real estate mogul turned Commander-in-Chief made the remark while taking an impromptu walk on the roof of the White House Briefing Room where press secretary Karoline Leavitt regularly spars with journalists. After Trump inspected his surrounds, some correspondents shouted out: 'Mr President, what are you trying to build?' 'Missiles,' he replied, as he pointed towards the north lawn. 'Nuclear missiles.' 'Did he say missiles?' confused journalists asked one another below. The jovial answer came as America's otherwise serious nuclear posturing and ambitions have ramped up in recent days. On Friday, Trump ordered nuclear submarines to be positioned near Russia in response to escalating threats from Moscow. The direction came after Trump and Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev traded blows online, resulting in Medvedev likening Trump to 'Sleepy Joe' Biden and warning that Russia had Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities. The administration also confirmed this week that it is planning to build a nuclear reactor on the moon as it seeks to push ahead in the global space race. 'We're in a race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon, and to have a base on the moon, we need energy,' Transportation Secretary and interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said at a press conference on Tuesday. Trump's impromptu White House roof walk also prompted speculation that the president may be planning more renovations, particularly as he was on the west side of the White House, directly on top of the press briefing room. Built in 1970, the aging room has become increasingly cramped this year due to the high number of reporters and MAGA influencers vying for space during Leavitt's briefings. In September, construction also begins on Trump's $200 million ballroom—a 90,000-square foot project that the president first raised in 2010, when Trump called David Axlerod, then an adviser to President Barack Obama, and offered to build it. 'Let me build you a ballroom you can assemble and take apart,' Axelrod recalled Trump saying. 'Trust me. It'll look great.' Fifteen years later, the project, to be built where the East Wing currently sits, is yet another example of the president putting his stamp on the executive mansion. 'Anything I do is financed by me, so you don't have to worry,' he told reporters. 'It's contributed—just like my salary is contributed. But nobody ever mentions that.'
Fox News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Russia drops missile deployment moratorium amid tensions with Trump admin
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that NATO is to blame for Moscow's decision to withdraw from a longstanding moratorium on missile deployment. Russia's foreign ministry announced earlier this week that it would no longer be bound by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The U.S. had withdrawn from the treaty in 2019, but Russian officials had said they would avoid deploying short- and medium-range nuclear missiles so long as the U.S. did the same. "The Russian Foreign Ministry's statement on the withdrawal of the moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles is the result of NATO countries' anti-Russian policy," Medvedev posted Sunday on X. "This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps," he added. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had initially floated dropping the moratorium in December, citing alleged "destabilizing actions" by the U.S. and NATO. "Since the situation is developing towards the actual deployment of U.S.-made land-based medium- and short-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian Foreign Ministry notes that the conditions for maintaining a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of similar weapons have disappeared," the ministry said in a statement at the time. The INF treaty, signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, eliminated an entire class of weapons – ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. Medvedev's latest comments come amid an ongoing back-and-forth with President Donald Trump. The former Russian president had goaded Trump in a series of posts on X, claiming the U.S. was moving toward "war" with Moscow. In response, Trump announced that the U.S. was redeploying two nuclear submarines to "appropriate regions" closer to Moscow. The Kremlin released a statement downplaying Medvedev's comments soon afterward. "We approach any statements related to nuclear issues with great caution," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. "As you know, Russia holds a responsible position. President Putin's stance is well known." "Russia takes the issue of nuclear non-proliferation very seriously," he added. "And, of course, we believe that everyone should be extremely careful when it comes to nuclear rhetoric."
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Russia issues warning to West as it pulls out of missile treaty
Russia has formerly pulled out of a treaty prohibiting the deployment of short and medium-range nuclear missiles, warning the West to 'expect further steps'. As missiles continued to rain down on Ukraine, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president, blamed Nato countries for their withdrawal from the Cold War-era agreement. Medvedev, who has been exchanging barbs on social media with Donald Trump, made his comments after Russia's foreign ministry said Moscow no longer considered itself bound by the moratorium on the deployment of short and medium-range nuclear missiles. 'The Russian foreign ministry's statement on the withdrawal of the moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles is the result of Nato countries' anti-Russian policy,' Medvedev posted in English on X. 'This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps.' Medvedev, who now serves as deputy head of Russia's powerful Security Council, did not elaborate. The US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty in 2019, citing Russian non-compliance. Russia later said it would not deploy such weapons provided that Washington did not do so. However, Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, signalled last December that Moscow would respond to what he called 'destabilising actions' by the US and Nato. 'Since the situation is developing towards the actual deployment of US-made land-based medium and short-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian foreign ministry notes that the conditions for maintaining a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of similar weapons have disappeared,' the ministry said in a statement. The INF treaty, signed in 1987 by Mikhail Gorbachev, the then Soviet leader and Ronald Reagan, the US president, eliminated an entire class of weapons – ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometres (311 to 3,418 miles). Medvedev, seen initially in the West as a potential moderate and reformer, has become one of the most hawkish senior officials on foreign policy in Moscow. Mr Trump last Friday said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved to 'the appropriate regions' in response to remarks from Medvedev about the risk of war between the nuclear-armed adversaries. Overnight, Russian strikes hit a railway station in eastern Ukraine, killing a mechanic and wounding four workers, the national rail company said. 'Russian terrorists inflicted a massive strike on the railway infrastructure of Lozova,' Ukrainian Railways said in a Telegram post. 'A duty mechanic of one of the units was killed, four more railway workers were wounded. All the wounded are receiving necessary medical care.' Several trains have been rerouted, it added. Lozova's mayor said two children were among the wounded and residential quarters had been damaged. 'Lozova has survived the most massive attack since the beginning of the war,' Sergiy Zelensky said in a Facebook post. Two people were also wounded in a separate Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia, the region's military administration said. Ukraine's air force meanwhile said air defence units had downed 29 Iranian-made Shahed drones overnight in the north and east of the country. It comes as a deadline set by Mr Trump for Russia to take steps to ending the war in Ukraine or face unspecified new sanctions looms. Three rounds of peace talks in Istanbul have failed to make headway on a possible ceasefire, with the two sides appearing as far apart as ever.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Russia warns against threats after Trump repositions nuclear submarines
The Kremlin warned Monday against 'nuclear rhetoric' after President Donald Trump repositioned two nuclear submarines because of what he called 'foolish and inflammatory statements' by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev's rambling comments, in a social media post, included veiled threats referencing Moscow's 'Dead Hand' capability of carrying out a nuclear strike on the United States even if Russia's leaders were attacked and unable to issue the order. 'Russia is very cautious about nuclear nonproliferation matters, and we believe everyone should be very careful about nuclear rhetoric,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday in his daily call with journalists, in which he cautioned against nuclear escalation. Peskov's remarks, the first official statement from the Kremlin about Trump's move, seemed to distance Russian President Vladimir Putin from Medvedev, a longtime prime minister under Putin who now serves as deputy chairman of the national Security Council. 'On the whole, certainly, we absolutely wouldn't like to engage in such polemics, nor would we like to comment on that in any way,' Peskov said, responding to a question about Trump's announcement of nuclear submarine movements. 'There can be no winner in a nuclear war,' Peskov added. 'This is probably the key premise we rely on. We do not think there is talk of any escalation.' Since ordering the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Putin has often intimated that Moscow could deploy nuclear weapons, while other officials, including Medvedev, and commentators close to the Kremlin have issued hyperbolic threats referencing Russia's nuclear arsenal, which is the world's largest. Peskov's effort to play down the confrontation with the Trump administration comes ahead of a visit to Russia this week by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, who has met Putin four times in a so-far-unsuccessful bid to achieve a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump told reporters Sunday that the submarines are 'in the region.' Last week, responding to Medvedev on social media, Trump denounced the Russian's 'highly provocative statements,' which he said led him to dispatch the submarines 'just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.' 'Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences,' Trump continued, capping an intensifying exchange between the two men, who have long been at odds. 'I hope this will not be one of those instances.' Medvedev, whose relevance in Russia has waned since he left the prime minister's office in 2020, now often plays the role of social media provocateur, issuing overheated, threatening statements. In 2017, Medvedev was the target of an attention-grabbing investigation led by the late Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, which used Medvedev's fondness for ordering flashy, high-priced sneakers to tie the then-prime minister to luxury properties, Navalny, who died in a Russian prison in February 2024, accused Medvedev of funneling more than $1 billion in bribes through companies and charities run by his associates to acquire vineyards, luxury yachts and lavish mansions. Russia's nuclear arsenal is central to Putin's effort to posture the country as a global power and to reinforce his conviction, shared by many Russian citizens, that Russia can never be defeated in war. On Sunday, Trump said he was sending Witkoff to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday at Moscow's request, before imposing new sanctions. Trump has cautioned that the new sanctions would likely not deter Russia's war effort. After Trump last week shortened the deadline for agreement on a ceasefire to Aug. 8, Medvedev warned on social media that every Trump ultimatum on a Ukrainian ceasefire was a step closer to war between the United States and Russia. Trump warned Medvedev to 'watch his words,' then Medvedev responded on Thursday with an emoji of laughter through tears and the nuclear threat — warning Trump of the dangers of the 'Dead Hand,' a reference to an automated Soviet system designed to launch nuclear weapons. On Friday afternoon, Trump announced he would reposition two nuclear submarines. 'A threat was made … so we just have to be very careful,' he said Friday, referring to Medvedev, adding 'We're going to protect our people.' Peskov distanced himself Monday from Medvedev's rhetoric, saying that people should look to Putin on matters of foreign policy. 'In our country, foreign policy is formulated by the head of state, President Putin,' Peskov said. He declined to comment on whether the Kremlin would tell Medvedev to tone down his rhetoric. Russia has sharpened its rhetoric toward Trump in recent weeks after U.S. officials indicated he has been running out of patience with Putin's reluctance to compromise on his maximalist conditions to end the war on Ukraine, despite important concessions suggested by the United States, including keeping Ukraine out of NATO and allowing Moscow to keep the territory it has illegally annexed in Ukraine. In his meetings with Putin and other Russian officials, Witkoff has at times appeared to misread the Kremlin's demands, commenting that he saw Russia's retention of the territories it has annexed as key to the war's resolution. Putin, however, has consistently insisted on a broader subjugation of Ukraine, including slashing the size of its military to strip it of the capacity to defend itself, effectively undercutting Ukrainian sovereignty. On Friday, Putin said that Russia's conditions to end the war had not changed and declared that any disappointment about the peace process was due to 'excessive expectations,' in a comment that appeared directed at Trump. He said that Russia's massive losses in Ukraine — likely, by this summer, to exceed 1 million soldiers killed and wounded according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies — were not in vain. 'We do not have a single loss in vain,' the Russian leader told journalists at Valaam Island in northern Russia after visiting a monastery. Since the 2022 invasion, Moscow has carefully calibrated its nuclear threat to deter Western support for Ukraine, in particular deliveries of Western missiles capable of striking deep into Russian territory. Denied those capabilities, Ukraine has used drone strikes on distant targets. These threats have, at times, been delivered directly by Putin, but also, at other times, by senior Russian officials who offer a level of deniability, including Medvedev. Trump on Sunday reiterated his threat to impose punishing secondary sanctions on Russia oil — meaning that Russia's main buyers, China and India, could be penalized in an effort to cut Russian oil revenue. Russia has spending 40 percent of its budget on the military and security forces, amid declining income. 'There'll be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions,' Trump said. 'They're wily characters and they're pretty good at avoiding sanctions, so we'll see what happens.' Signaling Moscow's tougher attitude to Trump, Russian state television, which is under the control of the Kremlin, recently aired nude and seminude images of first lady Melania Trump from her days as a model, for the second time since Trump's election. State television anchors and commentators have also toughened their criticisms of Trump and dismissed his ultimatum on a ceasefire as theatrics.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Kremlin Urges Caution with Nuclear Rhetoric After Trump's Submarine Order
The Kremlin said on Monday that everyone should be careful about nuclear rhetoric, in its first response to a statement by US President Donald Trump that he had ordered a repositioning of US nuclear submarines. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down the significance of Trump's announcement last Friday that he had ordered two subs to be moved to "the appropriate regions" in response to remarks from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev about the risk of war between the nuclear-armed adversaries. "In this case, it is obvious that American submarines are already on combat duty. This is an ongoing process, that's the first thing," Peskov told reporters. "But in general, of course, we would not want to get involved in such a controversy and would not want to comment on it in any way," he added. "Of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric." Peskov said that Russia did not see Trump's statement as marking an escalation in nuclear tension. "We do not believe that we are talking about any escalation now. It is clear that very complex, very sensitive issues are being discussed, which, of course, are perceived very emotionally by many people," he said. Peskov declined to answer directly when asked whether the Kremlin had tried to warn Medvedev to tone down his online altercation with Trump. "Listen, in every country, members of the leadership... have different points of view on events that are taking place, different attitudes. There are people who are very, very tough-minded in the United States of America and in European countries, so this is always the case," he said. "But the main thing, of course, is the position of President (Vladimir) Putin," he said. "You know that in our country, foreign policy is formulated by the head of state, that is, President Putin."
