President Trump is rattling the U.S.’s formidable nuclear saber amid his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin's refusal to halt the war in Ukraine, just days ahead of Trump’s deadline for a ceasefire.

Trump last week said he was moving two “nuclear” submarines closer to Russia in response to threatening rhetoric from a top Kremlin official. On Sunday, he confirmed the vessels were now “in the region.”

It’s not clear if Trump is referring to nuclear-armed submarines or nuclear-powered attack submarines, but the confusion adds to the threat, which coincides with the president’s Friday deadline for Russia to end the war or face further economic isolation.

Experts say it’s a risky tactic unlikely to sway Putin, who has stood in the way of the president’s campaign promise to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of returning to the White House.

“I don't see a lot of the benefits 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,” said Erin Dumbacher, the Stanton Nuclear Security Senior Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations.

“I see more risk than reward to using statements like this.”

While experts don’t see an imminent threat, they warn against careless and bombastic statements that could lead to risky miscalculation and confrontation.

“Does this mean that all of a sudden we should all be going to the cellar and locking ourselves in? No,” said former Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.), who is the executive director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, in a call with The Hill.

“Of major concern is nuclear rhetoric that could all too easily lead to mistake or miscalculation resulting in catastrophe. Trump’s verbal engagement with an essentially powerless Russian politician is inappropriate and unhelpful,” he said in an earlier statement. “What is needed is a steady hand, not someone who allows his anger at a personal insult to risk escalating to a dangerous situation.”

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, is expected in Moscow later this week to push........

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