President Donald Trump is demonstrating that Ronald Reagan's model of "Peace Through Strength" still works when dealing with the Russians. Dmitry Medvedev -- Russia's former president and current deputy chair of the nation's security council -- responded last week to Trump's promise to impose new sanctions if Moscow does not end the war in Ukraine with a bellicose post on social media.

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

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