Behind Trump’s order lies a question: is this bluster or strategy? There has been no statement from the Kremlin, and no military response either.

It comes amid heightened tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, after Trump described Russia’s actions as “disgusting”. The US President had given Putin a 50-day deadline to end the war, which he then reduced to less than two weeks following an unsatisfactory response from the Russian president.

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake that rattled Russia’s eastern coast this week sent waves crashing into one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most prized military installations, his Pacific Fleet’s nuclear submarine base,