President Donald Trump stated that he had directed the deployment of two U.S. nuclear submarines in response to mounting tensions and aggressive language with a senior Russian official concerning his ultimatum to cease Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.

The repositioning of nuclear submarines to ‘appropriate regions’ seems largely symbolic as the U.S. already maintains a considerable number of nuclear-powered submarines constantly poised to respond in case of hostilities.

Nevertheless, it notches up the tensions once again after Trump announced he was moving up his ultimatum for Russia to agree to end the war. 

Should Russia not reach a peace agreement by the end of next week, Trump mentioned he plans to enforce strict ‘secondary sanctions’ on countries conducting trade with Russia.

Trump made the decision to deploy the submarines after ‘highly provocative statements’ of Russia’s ex-President Dmitry Medvedev – who now serves as deputy of Russia’s Security Council. 

He had called Trump’s sanctions threat a clear ‘step toward war,’ clearly incensing the president. 

‘I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday afternoon. 

‘Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’

Medvedev, the former president of Russia who stepped aside when Vladimir Putin took a break from the top post, drew Trump’s ire with his own post this week. 

‘Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia…Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe road!’ he wrote.

Trump then tore into the Russian with angry posts around midnight Thursday.

‘Tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory,’ Trump wrote.

Trump’s jabs at Medvedev, who is often a caustic critic of U.S. policy, allows him to steer clear of Putin – with whom Trump has shown obvious frustration in recent weeks, despite Trump often referring him to him as someone he can ‘get along with.’ 

Trump has lamented apparently positive phone conversations with Putin followed within hours by Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns. 

Trump’s threats come after Russia launched yet another devastating attack on Kyiv overnight, which killed dozens of people and a six-year-old boy. 

Russia has routinely been sending swarms of hundreds of drones to attack Ukraine, with houses and apartment buildings suffering regular blasts. 

An estimated 31 people were killed and 150 injured during Thursday’s attacks.

Wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in response while posting a video: ‘Kyiv. Missile strike. Directly into a residential building. People under the rubble. All services are on site. Russian terrorists.’ 

In his own first public comments since Trump threw down his abbreviated ultimatum, Putin criticized ‘inflated’ expectations about ending a war he ordered in 2022 by launching a cross-border attack on Russia’s neighbor.

‘All disappointments come from inflated expectations,’ Putin said. ‘In order to solve the issue in a peaceful way, we need deep conversations, not in public, but in the silence of a negotiating process.’