Trump announced that he had changed the location of two nuclear submarines after threats from Dmitry Medvedev. Apparently, the good relations between Trump and Putin are in the past. How far will the conflict escalate?
"Words are very important and can often lead to unintended consequences. "I hope this won't be one of those cases," Donald Trump wrote after announcing that he had ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines to be changed.
The decision came after threats from Medvedev
Trump's statement came in response to a threat from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who advised the US president to imagine the TV series "The Walking Dead", talking about the Kremlin's nuclear power. In recent days, Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, has attacked Washington for announcing new sanctions if Moscow does not cease fire in Ukraine, even calling President Trump "grandfather". As head of state of Russia, Medvedev was considered a moderate politician, but since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, he has become known for his aggressive and unrestrained tone and the threats he makes to the West.
Similar threats have been made to the US now. "We had to do it", Trump told reporters about the decision on the nuclear submarines. "For the safety of our population".
It is not clear from the president's words who these submarines are and where they were located. Whether nuclear weapons are really located closer to the border with Russia or this is simply a threat from Trump cannot be said for sure, experts comment. The location of the US nuclear weapons is kept secret.
Are good relations between Trump and Putin a thing of the past?
Tensions between Washington and Moscow have escalated in recent months. At the beginning of his second term, Trump demonstrated good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In March, after two phone calls between the two, which lasted hours, he stated that they had always understood each other and that he did not believe Putin would go back on his word to work to end the war in Ukraine. In late February, the US president and Vice President J.D. Vance sharply attacked their Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Washington. More talks with Putin followed, and aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine were suspended.
But things quickly changed when, despite declarations of seeking a ceasefire, Russia did not stop its attacks on Ukraine. In May, Trump declared that Putin was "crazy". White House sources told US media that he was furious because the Russian president was not allowing him to fulfill his campaign promise to end the war.
In the weeks that followed, Washington provided new Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine with the understanding that European partners would pay for them. Trump then threatened Russia with new sanctions if it did not sit down at the negotiating table and reach a ceasefire. He gave the Kremlin 50 days. In response, however, Moscow has stepped up its attacks, killing 30 civilians in just one day last week. The US president has cut the deadline he is giving Russia to between 10 and 12 days and announced that he will impose tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil. The nuclear threats are another stage in the escalation of relations between the Kremlin and Washington.