Could this be the first time in history a social media spat triggers nuclear escalation?

President Donald Trump, offended by posts by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, says he's ordered two nuclear submarines to move closer to Russia.

So, how will Moscow respond? Are we on a path to a nuclear standoff between America and Russia? An internet-age version of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis?

I doubt it, judging by initial reaction in Russia.

Russian news outlets have been rather dismissive of Trump's announcement.

Speaking to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, a military commentator concluded that Trump was "throwing a temper tantrum".

A retired lieutenant-general told Kommersant that the US president's talk of submarines was "meaningless blather. It's how he gets his kicks".

"I'm sure Trump didn't really give any orders [about submarines]," a Russian security expert suggested to the same paper.

Kommersant also mentions that in 2017, Trump said that he'd despatched two nuclear submarines to the Korean peninsula as a warning to North Korea.

Source: BBC