Trump Deploys Nuclear Subs Amid Row With Russian Ex-President

He says move is based on 'highly provocative statements' in war of words over Ukraine and tariffs

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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines on Aug 1 in an extraordinary escalation of what had been an online war of words with a Russian official over Ukraine and tariffs.

Mr Trump and Mr Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's security council and a former president, have been sparring on social media for days.

Mr Trump's post on his Truth Social platform abruptly took that spat into the very real — and rarely publicized — sphere of nuclear forces.

"Based on the highly provocative statements", Mr Trump said, 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".

The 79-year-old Republican President posted: "Words are very important and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances."

Mr Trump did not say in his post whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the US military.

But in an interview with Newsmax that aired on the night of Aug 1, Mr Trump said the submarines were "closer to Russia".

"We always want to be ready. And so I have sent to the region two nuclear submarines," he said. "I just want to make sure that his words are only words and nothing more than that."