Former Russian President and current Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev warned Donald Trump not to forget that Moscow has a Soviet nuclear arsenal that can be used as a “last resort“. His statement came in response to a sharp post by Trump in which he warned him to “be careful what he says“.
Earlier today, on his social platform Truth Social, the US president criticized Medvedev, who had called the threats of sanctions and tariffs against Russia and its oil buyers “a game of ultimatums“ and “a path to war“. Trump responded:
“Tell Medvedev, the failed former Russian president who thinks he is still in power, to be careful what he says. He is entering very dangerous territory.“
The statement is the second sharp warning from Trump to Vladimir Putin's close ally in recent weeks.
Earlier this week, Trump issued a new ultimatum to Moscow: the US will impose tariffs and additional measures if Russia does not show “serious progress“ towards ending the war in Ukraine within 10-12 days, starting from July 30. So far, Moscow has not officially responded to this deadline, continuing to insist on its own terms for peace, which Kiev says amount to capitulation.
In his post today, Trump also hit out at India — one of the largest buyers of Russian oil:
“It doesn't matter what India does. They could go down with their dead economies. Their tariffs are among the highest in the world, we hardly do business with them anyway. The same applies to Russia.“
For his part, Medvedev reacted with irony and demonstrative confidence:
„If my words cause such nervousness in the almighty US president, then we are going in the right direction. Russia must continue on its path.“
He added that Trump should remember the "Dead Hand" - a Russian automatic system from the Cold War era, designed to launch nuclear missiles in the event of the destruction of the top leadership.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Medvedev has become one of the most aggressive anti-Western voices in the Kremlin. While critics have described him as unpredictable and provocative, some Western diplomats believe his statements reflect the inner thinking of the Russian leadership.
This is not the first verbal clash between the two. Earlier this month, Trump attacked Medvedev for his claims that “several countries“ were ready to supply nuclear weapons to Iran, quipping:
“Apparently that's why Putin is THE BOSS.“