From "dead economy" to "Dead Hand", the public verbal battle between US President Donald Trump and Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has turned into a Cold War-era nuclear arms race, India Today reports.
What started with Trump's remark that both India and Russia could "sink together with their dead economies" soon spiraled out of control.
Medvedev, who is currently the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, is using "Dead Hand" - a Cold War-era system designed by Moscow that would automatically trigger a nuclear retaliatory strike if the Soviet Union - today's Russia - be attacked even if its leadership is incapacitated.
"As for the talk about "dead economies" of India and Russia and "entering dangerous territory" - perhaps he should remember his favorite "walking dead" movies and also remember how dangerous the so-called “Dead Hand“, which doesn't even exist“ can be, Medvedev wrote in his Telegram channel in response.
The clash between Trump and Medvedev today was triggered by the imposition of 25% tariffs by the US president on India for purchasing energy from Russia.
In the same Truth Social post where Trump announced the tariffs on Indian imports to the US, he also criticized Medvedev and Russia, saying:
"Tell Medvedev, the failed former president of Russia who thinks he is still president, to be careful with his words. He is entering very dangerous territory!“
This was in response to Medvedev's warning to Trump after the US reduced the deadline for a ceasefire from 50 days to just 10-12 days or risk facing “secondary tariffs“.
Trump is playing the ultimatum game with Russia. Every new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war – not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. "Don't go the way of Sleepy Joe!", the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation wrote in X, using Trump's nickname for his predecessor Joe Biden.
Medvedev also responded to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who warned the BRICS countries, which include both India and Russia.
"Trump will impose tariffs on people who buy Russian oil – "China, India and Brazil... Here's what I would say to China, India and Brazil: If you continue to buy cheap Russian oil to allow this war to continue, we will tear you apart and crush your economy," Graham told Fox News earlier this week.
Trump has already signaled his intention to impose additional tariffs on the BRICS countries for what he described as an alliance that challenges the U.S. dollar.
Amidst all this, Putin has remained publicly silent as his aide escalates the rhetoric. The Kremlin has said it is closely monitoring the situation, as the United States recently deployed nuclear weapons to Britain for the first time since 2008. this way.