By now you may have heard that in response to comments made earlier this week by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, President Trump did the following:
Fox News has the story: Trump repositions 2 nuclear submarines after ‘highly provocative’ Russian comments:
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has “ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions” following “highly provocative statements” made by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Medvedev said earlier this week that Trump’s new deadline for Russia to end the conflict with Ukraine is an additional “step towards war.”
* * * *There was no immediate response to Trump’s comments from Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.Medvedev, now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, cautioned that Trump’s announcement Monday that Russia must end the conflict with Ukraine in 10 to 12 days would not end well for the U.S.”Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10… He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country,” Medvedev said in a post on X on Monday. “Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe road!”While Trump announced on July 14 that he would sign off on “severe tariffs” against Russia if Moscow failed to agree to a peace deal within 50 days, Trump said Monday that waiting that period of time was futile amid stalled negotiations.”I’m going to make a new deadline, of about 10 — 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump told reporters from Scotland. “There’s no reason for waiting. It was 50 days. I wanted to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.”
Apparently President Trump is not too happy with President Putin.
Fox News continues:
Trump’s remarks come as his frustration with Putin has grown in recent weeks amid no progress toward peace between Russia and Ukraine, and just a day after Russia launched more than 300 drones, four cruise missiles and three ballistic missiles into Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force.Trump also wrote on Truth Social Friday that “I have just been informed that almost 20,000 Russian soldiers died this month in the ridiculous War with Ukraine.[“]”Russia has lost 112,500 soldiers since the beginning of the year. That is a lot of unnecessary DEATH! Ukraine, however, has also suffered greatly. They have lost approximately 8,000 soldiers since January 1, 2025, and that number does not include their missing,” the president added. “Ukraine has also lost civilians, but in smaller numbers, as Russian rockets crash into Kyiv, and other Ukrainian locales. This is a War that should have never happened — This is Biden’s War, not ‘TRUMP’s.’ I’m just here to see if I can stop it!”
From a practical standpoint, I see this as a show of strength from President Trump, but not necessarily one with any immediate practical impact. Here’s why:
There are currently three types of subs in the U.S. inventory: (1) attack subs (SSNs) that carrying awesome anti-ship / anti-sub torpedoes and about 1-2 dozen conventional Tomahawk cruise missiles that have conventional 1,000 lb warheads; (2) ballistic missile (i.e. nuclear missile) subs (SSBNs) that carry a number of extremely long range missiles that potentially have a number of nuclear warheads in each missile; and (3) guided-missile subs (SSGNs), that are remodeled/revamped nuclear missile subs that now carry up to 154 conventional Tomahawk missiles, each with, as mentioned, a conventional 1,000 lb warhead.
Moving attack subs closer to Russia improves capability in the small, conventional strike role, but this is Russia we’re talking about. I’m not sure how much damage 1-2 dozen conventional Tomahawks are going to do to Russia, although they are very accurate missiles.
Moving nuclear ballistic missile subs closer to Russia is likely unnecessary as Google AI says that the Trident D-5 nuclear missile has a range of “4,600 statute miles.”
Moving a guided-missile sub closer gives better conventional capability (up to 154 conventional Tomahawks), but still, this is Russia.
On the other hand, President Trump didn’t say whether the subs being moved were in the Atlantic (closer to Moscow) or the Pacific (not so much), so that’s something to think about.
Another point is that U.S. attack subs have some surveillance capability. Again, from Google AI:
U.S. attack submarines possess robust surveillance capabilities, primarily relying on advanced sonar systems, photonics masts, and integrated systems like the Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) [formerly known as SOSUS]. These technologies enable them to detect, track, and classify surface ships and submarines, gather intelligence, and project power ashore.
So maybe that is something the President and his team see as worth doing. In any case we’ll keep you up to date as this develops.
From X (there is a lot to this thread from Rod Martin — worth a read — not sure he gets everything right, but this is X):
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