WW3? Tensions escalate as Putin threatens Trump for sending lethal weapons to Ukraine – Express.co.uk

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Kurt Volker, the US special envoy to Ukraine said Washington was actively reviewing whether to send weapons to help Ukrainians fighting Russian-backed rebels.

The Kremlin hit back saying if US weapons were delivered to Ukraine the situation along the frontline in the east of the country could be destabilised.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, said: "We have already said more than once that any action which escalates tension and further aggravates the already complicated situation will only move us further and further away from the moment of settling this internal issue of Ukraine."

Donald Trump started off his presidency saying he was happy to be cordial with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

However, in recent months the relationship has soured following the launch of an investigation into whether Russia meddled in last year's US election.

Mikhail Klimentyev/TASS

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Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and US President Donald Trump talking during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg

In a series of early morning tweets today, Mr Trump hit out at the investigation and questioned, without offering evidence, Ukrainian support for his Democratic presidential rival, Hillary Clinton.

Mr Trump added US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had "taken a very weak position" toward Democratic presidential nominee Mrs Clinton and cited "Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - quietly working to boost Clinton".

The US President gave no other details or offered any evidence about any role Ukraine may have played in the 2016 US presidential election, which is already under scrutiny for alleged Russian meddling and any possible ties to the Trump campaign or his associates.

Ukraine's permanent representative to the Council of Europe, Dmytro Kuleba, said on Twitter: "Trump writes that we interfered in the elections in the USA, while Putin says that we threaten Russia. There was a time when we were peaceful buckwheat sowers who kept themselves to themselves."

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Russia has denied any interference in the US election, and Mr Trump has said his campaign did not collude with Moscow.

The issue has cast a cloud over Mr Trump's first sixth months in office as Congress and the US Department of Justice conduct multiple investigations.

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US lawmakers are also pushing new sanctions on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and for its alleged US election interference, potentially complicating Mr Trump's hopes of pursuing improved relations with Moscow.

In the run-up to November's election, the Federal Bureau of Investigation probed Clinton's handling of email as US secretary of state under Democratic President Barack Obama but ultimately said no criminal charges were warranted.

The Ukrainian president's spokesman did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The foreign ministry declined to comment.

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WW3? Tensions escalate as Putin threatens Trump for sending lethal weapons to Ukraine - Express.co.uk