President Donald Trump issued a rare threat of nuclear escalation on Friday, saying he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be strategically positioned near Russia in response to what he said were aggressive remarks by Dmitry Medvedev,

President Donald Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to be “positioned in the appropriate regions” in response to “provocative statements” from Russian Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev,

Security analysts called Trump's move a rhetorical escalation with Moscow, but not necessarily a military one, given that the United States already has nuclear-powered submarines that are deployed and capable of striking Russia.