US President Donald Trump said Friday (August 1) that he had ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines in response to "provocative" comments by a senior Russian official.

“Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev … I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances,” he added.

Trump's comments continue an ongoing war of words on social media between the US president and Medvedev.

Medvedev served as Russian president from 2008 to 2012, between President Vladimir Putin's terms in power, and is now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council.

On Thursday, Medvedev wrote in a post on Telegram that, “if some words from the former president of Russia trigger such a nervous reaction from the high-and-mighty president of the United States, then Russia is doing everything right and will continue to proceed along its own path”.

He also said Trump should remember “how dangerous the fabled ‘Dead Hand’ can be” – a reference to a secretive, semi-automated, Soviet-era command system designed to launch Moscow's nuclear missiles in the event of its leadership being eliminated.

The announcement comes amid intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine, even as Trump threatens tougher sanctions unless Putin agrees to a ceasefire in the coming days.

A day of mourning was being held in Ukraine's capital on Friday, a day after Russia launched waves of missiles and drones on Kyiv, killing 31 people and wounding over 150 others.

This article was originally published on DW and contains two paragraphs from its blog.

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