Kremlin downplays Trump's nuclear submarine threat as president confirms vehicles are in the region

Russia on Monday attempted to downplay President Donald Trump's deployment of two nuclear submarines near the country, stating it did not view the latest actions as an escalation after Trump confirmed the vehicles were in the region. 

Trump announced he was sending two submarines to the area last week after former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned him that each "ultimatum" Trump made was a "step toward war" between Russia and the United States.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia does not want war with the United States and cautioned Trump against using inflammatory rhetoric that could escalate tensions between the two countries.

"In this case, it is obvious that American submarines are already on combat duty. This is an ongoing process, that’s the first thing," Peskov said, per Reuters. "But in general, of course, we would not want to get involved in such a controversy and would not want to comment on it in any way. Of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric."

Peskov emphasized that Russia does not view the latest movement as an "escalation" but claimed people were reacting emotionally on both sides. He also declined to comment on whether the Kremlin supports Medvedev's views.

"We do not believe that we are talking about any escalation now," he said. "It is clear that very complex, very sensitive issues are being discussed, which, of course, are perceived very emotionally by many people." 

The movement comes after Trump warned last week that he could start imposing sanctions on Russia soon, or shorten the timeline for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.