Overview

• President Trump ordered two US nuclear submarines to be repositioned in undisclosed locations closer to Russia as a deterrent measure.
• The White House declined to reveal which submarines were moved, their precise locations or armaments, signaling a strategy of calculated ambiguity.
• Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, had accused Trump of playing a “game of ultimatums” and evoked Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities.
• Trump’s move follows his warning that Russia has 10 days to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face tariffs on Russia and its oil buyers, a deadline Moscow has yet to meet.
• Analysts say the submarine deployment represents a shift from online taunts to tangible nuclear posturing in his ultimatum diplomacy toward Russia over Ukraine.