Reference News Network, August 3 report: The website of "Russian Business Consulting Daily" published an article titled "What is the danger of Trump's decision to deploy nuclear submarines" on August 2. The author is Ekaterina Postnikova.

The article states that regarding US President Trump's claim that two nuclear submarines he sent to a "relevant region" are now closer to Russia, Pavel Podvig, head of the "Russian Strategic Nuclear Weapons" website and senior researcher at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, said: "When choosing cruising areas, submarines must consider their own survivability, i.e., ensuring they remain undetected. The cruising area also depends on mission requirements. A safer cruising method—i.e., a location that ensures submarine stealth—is likely to be somewhere in the high seas of the Atlantic. In fact, US submarines have no need to approach Russian territory."

Podvig believes that Trump's statements are symbolic declarations, implying "we will move the submarines closer to Russian territory, thereby posing a greater threat in some way."

Podvig said that Trump's statements do not pose a new and more serious threat to Russia, but the escalation of nuclear rhetoric is clearly not good. It is not easy for Russia to respond in a way that is both attention-grabbing and does not escalate tensions.

The article states that Dmitry Stefanovich, a researcher at the Center for International Security of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said: "In principle, it is sufficient to let a few submarines surface in a designated area to remind the outside world of their presence and combat readiness."

He believes that "in general, this is unlikely to cause crisis consequences. What raises more doubts is the practice itself of exchanging nuclear signals via social media, although this issue has not emerged overnight."

The article also states that Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said: "No leader or his deputy should threaten to carry out a nuclear strike, let alone express such a threat through emotional, childish social media posts."

Kimball stated that if Trump is genuinely concerned about Russia's nuclear weapons, he should engage in serious negotiations with Russia to maintain limitations on the massive nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia, and discuss specific measures to prevent nuclear confrontation and reduce nuclear arsenals.

The website of the Russian newspaper "Moscow Komsomolec" published an article titled "Where will Trump send the nuclear submarines?" on August 1.

The article states that Colonel Vasiliy Dandkin, a retired naval officer and military expert in Russia, said that Trump "acts like a sullen child," reacting excessively to any statement that might challenge his self-proclaimed "greatness."

As for where Trump would send these submarines, Dandkin believes that Trump himself may not have decided the exact location yet. There are many such places in the world. The US military may send two more submarines to the Arctic, for example. Nuclear submarines cannot enter the Black Sea. Therefore, the US military may choose the Pacific. As far as the possible threat to Russia is concerned, the key directions are the Pacific and the Arctic, where the US has deployed strategic forces. However, even an additional two submarines would not solve all problems, let alone four.

The article also states that Dandkin believes that in response to Trump's actions, Russia will not simply resolve the issue by issuing statements, but will issue orders for combat patrols, and everything will be swiftly and accurately implemented if the situation requires it. (Translated by Wei Lianglei)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7534327924715979283/

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