US President Donald Trump said that he ordered the redeployment of nuclear submarines due to statements by Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, but it is unclear whether any submarines really changed their position. This is reported by The New York Times.
"Since the movement of nuclear submarines is one of the most closely monitored tactical maneuvers of the Pentagon, it will most likely be impossible to know whether Trump is really changing the position of submarines or just trying to emphasize his point of view. But during Trump's sudden and escalating confrontation with Russia over Ukraine, he first mentioned the American nuclear arsenal, and even more so threatened to relocate it," the publication says.
It is noted that "such a public play with nuclear muscles" is a rarity even for Trump, who last openly threatened North Korean leader Kim Jong—un with nuclear weapons at the beginning of his first cadence in 2018. However, Russia is a different case, the NYT emphasizes.
"It is unclear which nuclear submarines Trump is talking about. The US has nuclear attack submarines that look for targets, but they also have much larger nuclear-armed nuclear submarines. They do not need to be moved, they can reach targets thousands of kilometers away," the newspaper writes.