nuclear-news

Russia is staying quiet on Trump’s nuclear move

BBC, Steve Rosenberg, Russia editor in Moscow, 2 Aug 25

Could this be the first time in history a social media spat triggers nuclear escalation?

President Donald Trump, offended by posts by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, says he’s ordered two nuclear submarines to move closer to Russia.

So, how will Moscow respond? Are we on a path to a nuclear standoff between America and Russia? An internet-age version of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis?

I doubt it, judging by initial reaction in Russia.

Russian news outlets have been rather dismissive of Trump’s announcement.

Speaking to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, a military commentator concluded that Trump was “throwing a temper tantrum”.

A retired lieutenant-general told Kommersant that the US president’s talk of submarines was “meaningless blather. It’s how he gets his kicks”.

“I’m sure Trump didn’t really give any orders [about submarines],” a Russian security expert suggested to the same paper.

Kommersant also mentions that in 2017, Trump said that he’d despatched two nuclear submarines to the Korean peninsula as a warning to North Korea.

Yet not long after, Trump held a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

So, bizarrely, might Donald Trump’s latest submarine deployment be a precursor to a US-Russia summit?

I wouldn’t go that far.

But the reaction from the Russian authorities has been interesting.

At time of writing, there hasn’t been any.

Not from the Kremlin. Not from the Russian foreign ministry. Nor the defence ministry.

And I’ve seen no announcement about Russian nuclear submarines being positioned closer to America.

Which suggests that either Moscow is still studying the situation and working out what to do, or that Moscow doesn’t feel the need to react.

The Russian press reaction I mentioned earlier suggests it’s the latter……………………………. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly4kgv9238o

August 3, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, Russia