Elder statesman and former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who is now deputy chair of the Russian Federation security council, has found himself in a Twitter quarrel with United States President Donald Trump, leading to the latter sending out two nuclear submarines for deployment.
Reacting to Trump's threats to Russia for ending the war in Ukraine, Medvedev stated that any threats would precipitate war between the US and Russia.
“Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the Sleepy Joe road!” he said in a post on X.
Calling these remarks “provocative”, Trump said that he has ordered deployment of two nuclear submarines in case Medvedev’s remarks are more than just ‘inflammatory statements’. “Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, 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. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he wrote on Truth Social.
Dmitry Medvedev was the President of Russia from 2008-2012 when Vladimir Putin was his Prime Minister. He assumed the position after Putin was prohibited from running again since he had served two terms, as stipulated by Russian law at the time.
Since 2012, Putin and Medvedev reversed roles and the latter was the Prime Minister of Russia until 2020, who was replaced by Mikhail Mishustin. Medvedev assumed a fresh position at Russia's security council in 2020.
Medvedev's parents were university lecturers and he studied law. He worked in the private sector briefly prior to becoming involved in politics as well.
With Dmitry Medvedev as Russia's President, the West first perceived him to be a man who would strive to rebuild relationships with the United States. He even signed the New START nuclear arms control treaty with President Barack Obama in 2009.
During Medvedev's term as President, Russia also experienced a short but significant five-day war against its neighbor Georgia in 2008.
Medvedev has been an advocate of the Ukrainian-Russian war, which started more than three years ago. On several occasions, Medvedev has threatened that there would be a nuclear "apocalypse."
He has used aggressive language against Ukraine since the war started, even labelling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a criminal, a drug addict, a louse, a rat and a freak. He even used the term "cockroaches" to describe Ukrainians at one time.
Recently, Medvedev has been able to elicit a stinging reaction from the West as he has been waging an online word war with US President Donald Trump.
Medvedev blamed Trump for playing the "ultimatum game with Russia", which, he warned, would result in a direct war between Russia and the US. It got worse after Trump sent deployment of Russian "two Nuclear Submarines to be placed in the correct areas".
