Putin would 'eat you for lunch' Harris tells Trump, in bitter clash over Russia and Ukraine

Republican statesmanlike nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, clashed repeatedly implicit Russia, Kremlin person Vladimir Putin and the warfare successful Ukraine successful Tuesday night's intimately watched Presidential Debate.

Harris told Trump, who antecedently served arsenic U.S. president, that Putin "would devour you for lunch" and said that, if the Republican were to go president, "Putin would beryllium sitting successful Kyiv close now."

She besides accused Trump of being acceptable to wantonness Ukraine aft 2 and a fractional years of warfare and an immense subject backing effort by the U.S.

"Understand wherefore the European allies and our NATO allies are truthful thankful that you are nary longer president and that we recognize the value of the top subject confederation the satellite has ever known, which is NATO," Harris said during the ABC News Presidential Debate, according to a transcript of the debate.

"What we person done to sphere the quality of Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians to combat for their independence. Otherwise, Putin would beryllium sitting successful Kyiv with his eyes connected the remainder of Europe. Starting with Poland," she said, earlier describing Putin arsenic "a dictator who would devour you for lunch."

Trump rejected Harris' comments, claiming that the warfare would not person started if helium had been successful powerfulness successful 2022 and telling the assemblage that Putin "would beryllium sitting successful Moscow, and helium wouldn't person mislaid 300,000 men and women" successful the war.

Exact warfare casualty figures are unknown. Neither Russia nor Ukraine merchandise specified delicate information, but U.S. quality estimated past twelvemonth that astir 315,000 Russian soldiers — the immense bulk of whom are men — had been killed oregon wounded successful the war up to that time.

Trump has repeatedly insinuated that helium could chopped subject backing for Ukraine and would question an contiguous extremity to the conflict, with officials successful Kyiv acrophobic that the argumentation would mean it has to cede occupied territory to Russia arsenic portion of a deal.

Trump was asked respective times Tuesday nighttime if helium wanted Ukraine to triumph the war, oregon whether it was successful the U.S.' champion interests for Kyiv to execute victory. He responded by insisting helium wants the warfare to halt successful bid to prevention lives, and that helium would look to negociate a woody with Russia. He has antecedently said helium would extremity the warfare wrong 24 hours if helium was president, without stating however helium would bash so.

On Tuesday, helium again did not authorities however a woody would beryllium reached, oregon whether it would impact Ukraine ceding occupied territory to Russia — a concession that Kyiv has antecedently refused to make.

"I deliberation it's successful the U.S.' champion involvement to get this warfare finished and conscionable get it done. All right. Negotiate a deal. Because we person to halt each of these quality lives from being destroyed," helium said during the ABC News Presidential Debate, according to a transcript.

"I privation the warfare to stop. I privation to prevention lives that are being uselessly... radical being killed by the millions. It's the millions. It's truthful overmuch worse than the numbers that you're getting, which are fake numbers," Trump said, without providing grounds oregon further detail.

Harris said she believed "the crushed that Donald Trump says that this warfare would beryllium implicit wrong 24 hours is due to the fact that helium would conscionable springiness it up. And that's not who we are arsenic Americans."

The statesmanlike nominees clashed implicit subject backing for Ukraine, a high-profile contented betwixt Democrats and Republicans that resulted successful months of gridlock implicit a $60 cardinal assistance bundle for Ukraine that was yet agreed successful spring.

To date, the U.S. has provided much than $55.7 cardinal successful subject assistance to Ukraine, the U.S. State Dept. said successful a connection past week, since Russia launched what Washington described arsenic a "premeditated, unprovoked, and brutal full-scale penetration of Ukraine" connected Feb. 2022.

Harris said Tuesday that subject backing from the U.S. and Ukraine's planetary allies had enabled it to defy Russia's invasion, stating that "because of our support, due to the fact that of the aerial defense, the ammunition, the artillery, the javelins, the Abrams tanks that we person provided, Ukraine stands arsenic an autarkic and escaped country."

Trump connected Tuesday again repeated his much-stated presumption that the U.S. should not beryllium paying much than its European partners to enactment Ukraine, nor paying much into the NATO alliance, arsenic Europe was "a overmuch bigger beneficiary to getting this happening done than we are."

"They [Europe] should beryllium forced to equalize. With that being said, I privation to get the warfare settled. I cognize [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy precise well, and I cognize Putin precise well. I person a bully narration [with them]," Trump said.

Early Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described Trump and Harris's statement arsenic a spectacle.

"To beryllium honest, I don't cognize wherefore you deliberation that's large news," the authoritative told Sputnik Radio erstwhile asked to remark connected the debate, according to Russian authorities quality bureau Tass.

"Is that large quality that we could spot yet different amusement performed by radical who intelligibly instrumentality nary work whatsoever for their words?" she asked rhetorically.

Ukraine has not publically commented connected the Harris-Trump statement and has been cautious to debar taking sides up of the election, wary of alienating either governmental campy and the aboriginal president.