War of Statements Between Trump and Medvedev.. What’s the Story?

SadaNews - Rapidly and unexpectedly, the tensions between the United States and Russia have escalated following sharp statements made by U.S. President Donald Trump on one side and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who currently holds the position of Deputy Chairman of the Security Council.

Interestingly, Trump's tone since returning to the White House at the beginning of this year in a new term had been conciliatory and quite friendly towards Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, to the extent that it bewildered Western countries that believe the United States should be on the opposite side of Russia, especially regarding the war it is waging against Ukraine, which aspires to join the Western alliance after previously being part of the Soviet Union that Russia inherited.

However, the situation has turned in recent weeks, and Trump began using a harsh tone towards Moscow, expressing what he described as a "huge disappointment" due to its continued strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine, adding that he is no longer interested in talking to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Tensions quickly escalated to the point of discussing a time frame, as Trump stated in mid-July that he was giving Russia 50 days to stop its military operations in Ukraine, otherwise he would impose harsh economic sanctions, including a 100% tariff on U.S. imports from Russia as well as on oil purchases from it.

Just two weeks later, Trump announced that his deadline for Russia would be reduced to 10 days, indicating that he had not heard any response from his Russian counterpart regarding his previous warning, describing that as "shameful".

However, the Russian response finally came, not from President Putin, but rather from Dmitry Medvedev, who served as the country's president between 2008 and 2012 and remains an influential figure in Russia, currently serving as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council.

We Are Not Israel or Iran

Medvedev criticized Trump's warning tone, stating that it represents a threat and a step towards war—not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his country (the United States). He added in a post on X, "Russia is not Israel or even Iran," referring to the brief war that broke out between the two countries last month, during which the United States carried out strikes on Iran to support Israel.

Trump, for his part, did not delay in replying, stating yesterday (Thursday) that Medvedev is "entering a very dangerous area with his statements," urging him to watch his words.

According to Russia Today, the U.S. president directed comments akin to a threat at the former Russian president, expressing his discomfort with his statements, writing on Truth Social: "Tell Medvedev, the failed former president of Russia, who thinks he is still president, to watch his words. He is entering a very dangerous area!".

After a few hours, Medvedev sarcastically responded, asserting that Trump’s angry comment confirms that Russia is right and on the right path.

Medvedev reminded Trump that Moscow possesses nuclear capabilities from the Soviet era, which it views as a last resort.

Deploying Nuclear Submarines

As if Trump did not accept that the final word should come from the senior Russian official, he stepped out shortly (on Friday afternoon local U.S. time) to announce that he had ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines in areas close to Russia in response to Medvedev’s threats.

Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social: "I ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines in appropriate areas in anticipation that these foolish and provocative statements are more than just statements.".

Star Wars and the Dead Hand

According to "Russia Today", Medvedev wrote on Telegram: "Regarding the threats that Trump directed at me via his platform 'Truth', which he has banned from operating in our country.. if the words of the former president of Russia provoke such a nervous reaction from the 'mighty' president of the United States, it means that Russia is right and is on the right path it has chosen for itself.".

He added: "As for the 'dead economy' of Russia and India and my approach towards a dangerous area, let Trump remember his favorite movies about the living dead, and how the nonexistent dead hand can be dangerous.".

But what is this dead hand that the senior Russian official used in his warning to Trump?

The "dead hand" was the code name for an initiative by Russia in response to the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative announced by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in March 1983 to establish a broad-based missile defense system on land and in space capable of intercepting and destroying Soviet ballistic missiles.

The initiative was named "Star Wars" after a film of the same name that had premiered six years prior to Reagan’s announcement of the new initiative.

The Russian counter-response took the form of establishing what is known as the "dead hand" system, which included launching Soviet nuclear missiles even if the enemy managed to destroy the country’s top leadership and the entire military command and communication.

This system was part of a general approach focusing on neutralizing the threat by increasing the capacity of Soviet strategic nuclear forces to overcome multi-layered missile defense systems.

The Russian strategy in response to Star Wars also included plans to enhance the security of ballistic missile launch platforms and strategic nuclear missile carriers, in addition to bolstering the overall capabilities of the Soviet strategic forces command system.

However, it should be noted in the end that the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative never came into effect, as technical and operational obstacles led to the scaling back of the program after 10 years of its announcement.

Will this lead to a de-escalation of tensions between the two largest powers in the world, or will we return once again to an era dominated by terms like Star Wars, the dead hand, and so on?

Source: Agencies