Russia has said that everyone should be "very, very careful" about nuclear rhetoric, responding to a statement by US President Donald Trump that he had ordered a repositioning of US nuclear submarines.
In its first public reaction to Mr Trump's comments, the Kremlin played down their significance and said it was not looking to get into a public argument with him.
Mr Trump said on Friday he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved to "the appropriate regions" in response to remarks from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev about the risk of war between the nuclear-armed adversaries.
Speaking to reporters this morning, Mr Trump said that two nuclear submarines he deployed following an online row with Mr Medvedev were now "in the region".
Mr Trump has not said whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the US military.
"In this case, it is obvious that American submarines are already on combat duty. This is an ongoing process, that's the first thing," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"But in general, of course, we would not want to get involved in such a controversy and would not want to comment on it in any way," he added.
"Of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric."
The episode comes at a delicate moment, with Mr Trump threatening to impose new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its oil, including India and China, unless President Vladimir Putin agrees by Friday to end the three-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.
Mr Putin said last week that peace talks had made some positive progress but that Russia had the momentum in the war, signalling no shift in his position despite the looming deadline.
Mr Trump has said he may send his envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday.
Mr Witkoff has held long conversations with Mr Putin on several previous visits but failed to persuade him to agree to a ceasefire.
The Kremlin declined to say if his latest proposed trip was taking place at Moscow's request, and did not say what it hoped might emerge from it.
"We are always happy to see Mr Witkoff in Moscow and we are always happy to have contacts with Mr Witkoff. We consider them important, meaningful and very useful," Mr Peskov said.
Russian attacks continue despite US pressure
Mr Trump has previously threatened that new measures could mean "secondary tariffs" targeting Russia's remaining trade partners, such as China and India.
This would further stifle Russia, but would risk significant international disruption.
Mr Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said on Friday that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his nearly three-and-a-half year invasion were "unchanged".
Those demands include that Ukraine abandon territory and end ambitions to join NATO.
The US president began his second term with his own rosy predictions that the war in Ukraine --raging since Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022 - would soon end.
In recent weeks, Mr Trump has increasingly voiced frustration with Mr Putin over Russia's unrelenting offensive.
Despite the pressure from the US, Russia's onslaught against its pro-Western neighbour continues to unfold.
A Russian attack killed three people in southeastern Zaporizhzhia region yesterday, the regional governor said, as Moscow's forces press on with their slow advance westward along the 1,000km front line with Ukraine.
Governor Ivan Fedorov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the three people were killed in the daytime strike on the town of Stepnohirsk.
In Kamianske, a town a few kilometres south of Stepnohirsk on the Dnipro River in Zaporizhzhia region, a military spokesman said on Saturday that Ukrainian troops were holding on to their positions despite Russian attempts to take control.
Ukraine's top commander said Moscow's forces were changing their tactics, using smaller sabotage units in a bid to pushforward with their drive through eastern Donetsk region.
Russian forces have focused their drive on parts of Donetsk region, particularly the logistics centre of Pokrovsk, under Russian attack for months.
Russia's Defence Ministry said on Thursday its forces had scored a major gain by capturing the town of Chasiv Yar, to the northeast, after months of fighting, though Ukraine has not acknowledged this.
Russia's Defence Ministry on Saturday said it had taken control of another village closer to Pokrovsk.
Denis Pushilin, the Russia-installed head of parts of Donetsk region under Moscow's control, said in a video posted online yesterday that the capture of Chasiv Yar, located on high ground, would enable them to make further gains.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's top commander, writing on Facebook on Saturday, said his forces faced the fiercest fighting around Pokrovsk and in two other sectors.
"At the same time, the Russians are resorting to the tactic of 'total infiltration' with the increase of sabotage actions in our rear," he wrote.
"It is in this way that they are trying to enter Pokrovsk".
Ukrainian forces, he said, had set up "counter-sabotage reserves, whose task is to seek out and destroy enemy reconnaissance and sabotage groups."
