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Anxiety As Trump Deploys US Nuclear Submarines Near Russia After ex-President’s Comment

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United States President, Donald Trump, says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to “be positioned in the appropriate regions” after what he called “highly provocative” remarks by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Trump said he acted “just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.”

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He did not reveal where the submarines are being sent, following standard U.S. military protocol.

Medvedev recently issued threats toward the U.S. in response to Trump’s demands that Moscow agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face strict sanctions.

READ ALSO:Trump Says Hamas Doesn’t Want A Deal, ‘Want To Die’

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According to BBC, the U.S. and Russia hold the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, and both maintain fleets of nuclear submarines.

In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote: “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.”

Trump did not specify whether the submarines were nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed.

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Later that day, speaking to reporters, Trump said: “A threat was made, and we didn’t think it was appropriate. So I have to be very careful. I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia. And we’re going to protect our people.”

The Kremlin has not commented publicly, but Moscow’s stock market dropped sharply after Trump’s announcement.

READ ALSO:Anxiety As Trump Gives Russia 50 Days To Make Ukraine Deal

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Trump and Medvedev have been trading personal attacks on social media in recent weeks.

Trump has set new deadlines for Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, the latest being August 8. Putin has not shown any sign of complying.

Earlier this week, Trump had mentioned a “10 or 12” day deadline. In July, he warned of heavy tariffs on Russian oil and other exports if Putin did not stop the war within 50 days.

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Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, accused Trump of playing “the ultimatum game with Russia.”

In a post on X, he wrote that “each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war.”

READ ALSO:Trump Birthright Citizenship Order Halted In Class-action Suit

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Earlier in July, Medvedev called Trump’s ultimatum “theatrical,” adding that “Russia didn’t care.”

Writing on Telegram on Thursday, Medvedev warned of a “dead hand” threat — a phrase some analysts interpreted as a reference to Russia’s nuclear retaliation system.

Friday’s announcement wasn’t Trump’s first response to Medvedev. On Thursday, Trump called him “the failed former president of Russia, who thinks he’s still president,” and warned him to “watch his words,” adding, “he’s entering very dangerous territory!”

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Medvedev has backed Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and remains a vocal critic of the West.

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42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

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Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

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Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

READ ALSO:Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

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The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

READ ALSO:Russia Claims More Ukraine Land As Hopes For Summit Fade

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Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

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Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

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Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

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Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

READ ALSO:Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

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Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

READ ALSO:US Ambassador To Paris Slams Macron Over Rising Antisemitism

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The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

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Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

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Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

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They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

READ ALSO:Russia Returns Bodies Of 1,000 Ukrainian Soldiers

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In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

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Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

READ ALSO:Top Russian General Seriously Wounded In Ukraine – Officials

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

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Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

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