President Trump is rattling the U.S.\u2019s formidable nuclear saber amid his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s refusal to halt the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump last week said he was moving two \u201cnuclear\u201d submarines<\/strong> closer to Russia in response to threatening rhetoric from a top Kremlin official. On Sunday, he confirmed the vessels were now \u201cin the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not clear if Trump is referring to nuclear-armed submarines or nuclear-powered attack submarines, but the confusion adds to the threat<\/strong>, which coincides with the president\u2019s Friday deadline for Russia to end the war or face further economic isolation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Experts say it\u2019s a risky tactic unlikely to sway Putin<\/strong>, who has stood in the way of the president\u2019s campaign promise to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of returning to the White House. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t see a lot of the benefits<\/strong> or the advantages, given that the Russians know very well that we have, for decades, had nuclear-armed submarines that could target what matters to them,\u201d said Erin Dumbacher, the Stanton Nuclear Security Senior Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI see more risk than reward<\/strong> to using statements like this.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n While experts don\u2019t see an imminent threat<\/strong>, they warn against careless and bombastic statements that could lead to risky miscalculation and confrontation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDoes this mean that all of a sudden we should all be going to the cellar and locking ourselves in? No<\/strong>,\u201d said former Rep. John Tierney\u2002<\/u><\/a>(D-Mass.), who is the executive director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, in a call with The Hill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Steve Witkoff,<\/u><\/a> Trump\u2019s special envoy for peace missions, is expected in Moscow later this week<\/strong> to push Putin\u2002<\/u><\/a>to agree to a ceasefire. If that fails, Ukraine\u2019s supporters are hoping Trump will pull the trigger on \u201csecondary tariffs\u201d on countries that import oil from Russia, in a bid to choke off the Kremlin\u2019s ability to finance its war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n