Bolton criticizes US nuke escalation against Russia as ‘very risky’
Former US national security adviser John Bolton has criticized Washington’s escalation of tensions with Russia as a “very risky business.”
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be strategically positioned near Russia in response to what he said were aggressive remarks by the country’s deputy chairman of its Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev.
Medvedev, in a Telegram post on Thursday, told Trump to remember “how dangerous the mythical Dead Hand can be.” “Dead Hand” is a doomsday nuclear weapons control system developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The decades-old world-ending control system, if activated, would automatically or semi-automatically launch all the nuclear missiles at enemy targets.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday: “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.”
Bolton told CNN in an interview that the US repositioning of two nuclear submarines near Russia was not only risky, but also indicated that Trump did not have a clear understanding of the purpose of the US navy nuclear operations.
Bolton explained that the navy’s ballistic missile submarines are always deployed for deterrence and do not need to be repositioned to locations nearer to Russia for carrying out their military operations.
He also criticized Trump for engaging in a war of words with low-ranking Russian officials.
This week, Trump claimed he ordered US nuclear submarines redeployed in response to empty threats by Putin's subordinates. This shows clearly that Trump doesn't understand the deterrence posture of our Navy's nuclear capabilities. I explained why on @kaitlancollins last night:…
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) August 2, 2025
The war of words between Trump and Medvedev had begun on Monday, when Medvedev responded to remarks by a US senator who warned the Russian leaders to comply with Trump’s demands regarding the Ukraine war, or face consequences.
After Trump reduced his original 50-day deadline in July to a 10-day ultimatum, Medvedev fired back on Monday, saying it’s not up to Trump to dictate to the Russians when to “get at the peace table.”
In the meantime, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has not responded to Trump’s ultimatum, said on Friday that he wanted a “lasting and stable peace” with Ukraine.
He added that in the meantime, Russian troops were “advancing on the entire front line.”
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