Amid the sharp escalation in rhetoric between U.S. President Donald Trump and Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, the Kremlin issued a notably restrained statement. Despite the provocative tone of the conflict, President Vladimir Putin’s official spokesperson emphasized that Russian foreign policy is shaped solely by the head of state. Nevertheless, a clear signal was sent to Washington: nuclear rhetoric must be handled with extreme caution.
“We believe that anyone speaking on the topic of nuclear weapons should be very, very careful,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a briefing in Moscow. According to the Kremlin, heightened rhetoric on both sides only increases the risks and contributes to further escalation of international tensions.
Peskov’s statement followed an unexpected move by Donald Trump: the U.S. president ordered two nuclear-powered submarines to move closer to Russia’s borders. This step was a direct response to threats made by Dmitry Medvedev, who in recent weeks had issued a series of inflammatory statements against the United States on various online platforms.
According to Der Spiegel, the fierce exchange between Trump and Medvedev was triggered by Trump’s threat to impose harsh economic sanctions on Russia — including new tariffs — if Moscow did not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine by August 8. In response, Medvedev, known for his hawkish rhetoric, alluded to the “Dead Hand” — an automatic nuclear retaliation system within Russia’s strategic arsenal, designed to launch a strike even if the country’s command infrastructure is destroyed.
In his remarks, Kremlin spokesman Peskov sought to distance Russia’s official position from Medvedev’s personal statements. “Within the leadership of any country, there are different opinions on the current situation. There are so-called ‘hawks’ everywhere,” he said, clearly referring to Medvedev. However, he stressed that “in Russian foreign policy, the final word belongs to President Putin.”
Dmitry Medvedev has held the position of deputy chairman of the Security Council since 2020 and, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has regularly posted sharp statements, accusations, and often disinformation about Western countries. At the same time, he does not have actual decision-making power in foreign affairs — a fact the Kremlin effectively confirmed in its latest comment.
Nevertheless, as Der Spiegel notes, the Kremlin did not ignore the escalation of tensions with Trump. Despite its deliberately “calm” response, an unmistakable warning was issued to the U.S.: any public reference to nuclear weapons may carry serious consequences. At a time when relations between Moscow and Washington are already strained, such statements only make matters worse.
Thus, while the Kremlin attempts to portray the situation as a disagreement between politicians without practical consequences, the very fact that nuclear threats are being discussed so openly and aggressively at such a high level indicates the ongoing deterioration of the international climate. And as Peskov underlined, even if “hawkish” voices are heard in Russia, real foreign policy decisions are made by one man — Vladimir Putin.
This article was prepared based on materials published by Der Spiegel. The author does not claim authorship of the original text but presents their interpretation of the content for informational purposes.
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