The first official statement from the Kremlin about Trump’s move seemed to distance Russian President Vladimir Putin from Dmitry Medvedev’s inflammatory comments.

Russia has abandoned a long-held nuclear "freeze" after Donald Trump deployed submarines near Vladimir Putin's coasts. Moscow has said it no longer considers itself bound by a self-imposed ban on the deployment of missiles - and is poised to bring short- and intermediate-range nuclear weapons into action.

The Kremlin has tried to calm tensions in a feud between Trump and Medvedev that spiraled into nuclear threats.