For the first time in history, social media posts have led to a change in the location of weapons of mass destruction. This happened after statements by the former Russian president that angered the head of the White House. What are the reactions in Moscow to the news from Washington that nuclear submarines have moved closer to Russia? And how does the Kremlin react to the ultimatum that the American leader gave to the Russian leader regarding efforts to end the war in Ukraine?

Photo: SITA/AP,

US President Donald Trump, who ordered US nuclear submarines to move closer to Russia.

Russian drone and missile attacks in Kiev

Let's recall how Dmitry Medvedev, former president and currently deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, took a dig at White House chief Donald Trump:"He should remember two things. 1. Russia is not Israel or Iran. 2. Every new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with (his) own country," he wrote on the Telegram social network.

Trump then called him more or less a bankrupt former president and told him to watch his tongue. The verbal exchange eventually led to Trump announcing on the social network Truth Social that he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to be moved closer to Russian shores.

Putin at the christening of the Perm nuclear submarine, it will be armed with Zircons

Meanwhile, in Kiev, it was revealed that Medvedev published his post after apparently drinking a lot of vodka. This was indicated by the head of the presidential office Andriy Yermak. Similar remarks are being made from Ukraine, when Medvedev publishes hateful and aggressive texts on Telegram. The words with which he angered Trump are related to his ultimatum, which he gave to the Russian president. He recently emphasized that he is reducing the deadline of 50 days to ten to twelve days to stop the killing in Ukraine. Otherwise, he threatened Vladimir Putin with new sanctions that could greatly hurt his economy.

It is worth noting that Putin was probably careful not to turn Trump against himself, on the contrary, Medvedev seemed like a dog off the chain, so to speak. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Trump's ultimatum only with the remark that Russia takes note of it. These are completely different words from those he used in the spring of this year, when several European allies of Ukraine set Moscow a deadline to end the war. Peskov told them at the time that no one would speak to Russia in the language of an ultimatum about sanctions, and he emphasized that such statements did not apply to him.

After the announcement of the relocation of two US nuclear submarines, there is silence at the highest levels of government in Moscow. So far, Putin has not reacted, or rather, Peskov has not said anything, the same applies to the Ministry of Diplomacy and the Ministry of Defense. As for Trump's ultimatum, it expires at the end of next week. The decision on the form of new anti-Russian sanctions could perhaps be known on Friday, August 8.

However, there was no complete silence in Moscow. Two senior members from the two chambers of parliament spoke out. Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee Vladimir Dzhabharov offered an explanation for Trump's decision that no one with a sober mind could believe. He turned things inside out:"As for the deployment of two nuclear submarines, this is probably a reaction to the launch of the Kniezh Pozharsky submarine," he told the RBK server. He added that the transfer of American submarines does not worry the Russians in any way. The designation Kniezh Pozharsky belongs to a new Russian strategic nuclear submarine, which he included in the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy this week.

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Viktor Vodolatsky, deputy chairman of the Duma's Eurasian Integration Committee, said that there was no need to pay any attention to Trump's decision."There are much more of our nuclear submarines in the world's oceans, with the most powerful weapons. Let both US ships sail, they have been in the crosshairs for a long time," Vodolatsky told the TASS agency.

Of course, the current situation is absolutely not comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when the US and the Soviet Union found themselves on the brink of nuclear war. However, the transfer of American submarines has one impact on Russia:"The value of shares on the Moscow Stock Exchange fell sharply after Trump's statement," the BBC noted. Specifically, it is minus one percent.

Even before Trump's sharp reaction to Medvedev, Vodolatsky had already spoken out in another interview with TASS about the American leader's ultimatum. He did not behave neutrally like Peskov, but on the other hand, he did not imitate Medvedev either."Trump is trying, with his manners, including blackmail, to do everything to go down in history as a peacemaker," Dzhabharov noted about the US president's efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Putin is running out of time, given to him by Trump, but there is no indication that he is willing to do anything fundamental that would lead to a halt to the fighting in the territory of the attacked neighboring state. The Kremlin chief is only repeating words that do not lead to the establishment of peace or at least a long-term ceasefire."We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine and ensure the security of both countries," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying after a meeting with the self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Putin's idea of peace, however, is that the Ukrainians would essentially capitulate. Their leader Volodymyr Zelensky has meanwhile appealed to Putin to meet with him in person, but he is still not interested in such a summit.

If Putin does not take anything in the coming days that Trump would consider a significant step towards ending the war, he is expected to fulfill his promise to impose severe sanctions. These would be so-called secondary sanctions. This means that the US would impose high tariffs on countries that buy not only oil and natural gas from Russia, but also nuclear fuel for their nuclear power plants. Trump would put pressure on these countries to stop buying energy raw materials from the Russians, which would have a significant negative impact on the amount of state budget revenues.

However, the White House chief of staff also admits that even tough sanctions may not lead the Russian leader to try to stop the war:"Putin is very good at dealing with sanctions, he knows how to get around them," Trump noted for the Newsmax television station.

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