00:00President Trump says he's ordered the deployment of two U.S. nuclear submarines
00:04to the appropriate regions in response to threats from the former Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev.
00:11Both men have been taunting each other of late after the White House this week said Russia had
00:1610 days to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face tough sanctions. In response, Mr. Medvedev
00:23reminded him that Russia possessed nuclear strike capabilities. It's not clear exactly where Mr.
00:29Trump has ordered the submarines to be deployed. We'll have reaction from Moscow in a moment
00:34with Steve Rosenberg, but first, Gary O'Donoghue as our top story from Washington.
00:40In recent days, Donald Trump's rhetoric on Russia has turned up a notch.
00:45Russia? I think it's disgusting what they're doing.
00:48But rhetoric has now turned to action with the deployment of two nuclear submarines,
00:53not specifying whether they were the kind that could carry nuclear warheads.
00:57He was responding to the words of the former Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev,
01:02who accused the U.S. president of playing the ultimatum game over threats to impose fresh
01:07sanctions on Russia next week if a ceasefire in Ukraine wasn't agreed.
01:12The former president said,
01:14Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war, not between Russia and Ukraine,
01:20but with his own country.
01:21In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said he was deploying the subs
01:25just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.
01:31Words are very important and can often lead to unintended consequences.
01:35I hope this will not be one of those instances.
01:38The two men have met before in 2017 at a summit in Asia.
01:42President Medvedev called Donald Trump open and well-meaning.
01:47While former president Medvedev retains a role in Russia's National Security Council,
01:52he is not seen as the voice of Vladimir Putin,
01:55but nonetheless is provocative in his statements.
01:59Today, the current Russian president, pictured here with his Belarusian counterpart,
02:04was more measured, declaring that disappointments only came from excessive expectations.
02:09The U.S. has more than a dozen submarines that can carry nuclear warheads.
02:14They form part of the so-called triad of air, land and sea deterrence,
02:19the most undetectable part of America's strategic nuclear force.
02:24Donald Trump's latest deadline on Russia runs out at the end of next week.
02:29He's already said he doesn't expect fresh sanctions to change Vladimir Putin's behavior.
02:34Well, in a moment, we'll hear from Steve in Moscow.
02:39But first, back to you, Gary, in Washington.
02:41This all seems, frankly, extraordinary, the deployment of nuclear submarines.
02:49It is extraordinary, Clive.
02:51I mean, it's not clear whether these are nuclear-armed submarines or nuclear-powered submarines.
02:55It's worth saying that.
02:56And we don't know where they're being put.
02:57And yesterday, the Secretary of State, also the National Security Advisor,
03:02really downplayed these kinds of comments from President Medvedev,
03:06saying he wasn't a relevant player, he wasn't a decision-maker in Russia.
03:10And today, here, we have the President sending off a couple of submarines in the direction
03:14because of these comments from the former President Medvedev.
03:18So it's unclear exactly how serious this is.
03:21We're always told that we should take his actions, not his words, seriously.
03:25And these are actions.
03:27And in the past few minutes, the President has said that a threat was made,
03:30it wasn't appropriate, and that he had to protect our people, as he put it.
03:35Well, this is a significant escalation, but we'll see, really,
03:39whether it amounts to more than words.
03:40And there will be this crunch point at the end of next week
03:43when this deadline runs out in terms of Ukraine
03:46and extra sanctions could be put on Russia
03:49and its trading partners like India and China.
03:52Yeah, that deadline now taking on added significance to you, Steve.
03:56In Moscow, Mr Medvedev, former Russian President and Prime Minister,
04:01now Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council,
04:04he's been an outspoken critic of the West
04:06since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hasn't he?
04:11Yes, he certainly has.
04:13Interestingly, there's been no reaction so far
04:16from the Kremlin, from the Foreign Ministry,
04:18from the Defence Ministry, anyone here, really.
04:21I think everyone's trying to work out what on earth is going on
04:24and what, if anything, has changed
04:27in relation to where these US nuclear subs are being positioned.
04:32There has been reaction from the Moscow stock market,
04:35which has fallen sharply.
04:37Judging by the reaction in the local media here,
04:39Russians are surprised, to say the least,
04:44by President Trump's post.
04:46And I suspect that no-one is more surprised than Dmitry Medvedev himself,
04:50because for more than three years,
04:53he has been tweeting and posting some very bombastic
04:57and provocative social media posts,
05:00most of which have gone unnoticed, I have to say.
05:03But now suddenly, he has been noticed
05:06and he's gone under the skin of the President of the United States
05:09in a big way.
05:10Meanwhile, while all of this is going on,
05:14we expect, we think, Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff,
05:17to arrive in Russia, possibly to meet Vladimir Putin.
05:21And tonight, one prominent Russian news site
05:24described, he likened Mr Witkoff to a rabbit
05:28being pulled out of a magician's hat,
05:31the magician being Donald Trump.
05:33But I think it's a big ask for Mr Witkoff
05:35to magically ease all the tensions
05:38that we're seeing at the moment.
05:40Indeed.
05:41All right, Steve, thank you for that.
05:42Steve Rosenberg, live in Moscow,
05:43and Gary O'Donoghue in Washington.
05:45Many thanks.
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