Statement from the Nuclear Threat Initiative on President Trump’s Nuclear Submarines Order

President Donald Trump today said he ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved to the “appropriate regions” in response to threats from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who on Thursday referenced Russia’s Soviet-era automatic, retaliatory nuclear strike capabilities.

Let’s hope that the heated nuclear rhetoric between Russia and the United States doesn’t become a case study for unintended, catastrophic consequences.  The world urgently needs both sides to take concrete steps to prevent a war of words from spiraling into actual conflict between two nuclear-armed countries.  The stakes could not be higher.  President Trump’s own statement recognizes this danger.

Today, the risk of miscalculation is much higher because the Russian Federation in 2023 recklessly abandoned key guardrails incorporated into the New START treaty which would enhance stability and reduce misinterpretation.

New START is the last remaining nuclear stability agreement between the United States and the Russian Federation.  The treaty limits the number of both sides’ deployed nuclear weapons and provides for ongoing data sharing as well as a discreet and professional channel of communication between the two governments.  The channel—called the Bilateral Consultation Commission—builds mutual confidence and prevents misinterpretation of rhetoric and actions.  Although the New START treaty is in place until February 2026, the countries have suspended implementation, including these guardrails.

In this vein, we support President Trump’s recent statement expressing his interest in working with the Russians on a New START successor agreement.  We support prompt and intense work to turn that into a reality.  For example, an interim executive agreement to continue certain elements of New START during negotiations would greatly contribute to lowering the nuclear temperature and advancing global stability.  As the president correctly said, nuclear weapons are “a problem for the world.”