Overview

• President Trump announced he had repositioned two U.S. nuclear submarines in unspecified regions after describing former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s comments as “highly provocative.”
• The Pentagon withheld details of the submarines’ locations, referring all inquiries to the White House.
• Medvedev had accused Trump of playing a “game of ultimatums” and warned that each new deadline brought the two powers closer to conflict.
• Trump’s public revelation departs from normal secrecy around submarine deployments and exemplifies a policy of strategic ambiguity to signal resolve to Moscow.
• Despite the show of force, Russia has shown no sign of softening its stance on the Ukraine war or meeting Washington’s ceasefire demands.