Ukraine’s president has voiced his concern about a possible “full-scale war” with Russia, following the seizure of three of Ukraine’s naval ships by Russian forces over the weekend.
President Petro Poroshenko called the clash between Ukrainian and Russian naval forces an “extraordinary event”, adding that his country is “under the threat of a full-scale war with the Russian Federation”.
“Officially, without tearing off chevrons, without ‘green men,’ Russian troops in large numbers attacked the ships of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Poroshenko said, referring to the armed soldiers who wore green uniforms without insignias during the 2014 annexing of the Crimean peninsula by Russia.
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CNN reports that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has promised Ukraine “full assistance, including military assistance” following the events of the past few days.
The BBC reports that a Crimean court has since order that 12 of the Ukrainian crewmembers seized by Russian forces are to be “detained for 60 days”, while the fate of the other Ukrainians captured is yet to be decided.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has indicated that he may cancel a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, on the sidelines of the G20 summit due to be held in Buenos Aires later this week.
“Maybe I won’t have the meeting [with Mr Putin]. Maybe I won’t even have the meeting. I don’t like that aggression. I don’t want that aggression at all,” Trump told the Washington Post.
Trump also took aim at US allies in Europe, specifically singling out Germany for “not doing enough” when it comes to defence spending.
“Germany,” Trump said. “Absolutely not! Many of those countries are not doing enough toward Nato. They should be spending much more money.”
