Ukraine has dismissed suggestions by President Donald Trump that the U.S. should look into "Ukrainian efforts to sabotage" his campaign.
Trump made the comments in a tweet, which tagged Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, during a tirade against his own attorney general, Jeff Sessions, whom he accused of not carrying out some of Trump's own campaign pledges.
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Tweeting on Tuesday morning, Trump attempted to flip the tide of allegations that his campaign had improper contact with Russia, questioning activity by his rival Hillary Clinton's campaign and Ukraine.
"Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - 'quietly working to boost Clinton.' So where is the investigation A.G," Trump wrote, referring to his attorney general. The president did not elaborate on what evidence he had to warrant Sessions's Department of Justice investigating the matter.
Asked for comment, Ukraine's presidential administration and embassy in the U.S. both told Newsweek a statement would be forthcoming, before tweeting a statement themselves.
"We stand by our words that the government of Ukraine didn't help any candidate in Election," the embassy tweeted on Tuesday in both Ukrainian and English. "Ukraine is proud of bipartisan support in the US."
Ukraine's government Twitter account shared the statement promptly. In response to Newsweek's further questions, it referred to a letter by the ambassador from January, which addressed past reports of a Ukrainian-American Trump opponent seeking the embassy's help.
The letter states that any suggestion that either Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko or the embassy sought to block Trump's campaign "is false."
"Ukraine has always proudly had bipartisan support in the U.S., and the government would do nothing to undercut that," the letter said. "Individuals from Ukraine might have taken sides in the election, but the government did not."
Sessions, former Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn, eldest son Donald Trump Jr. and his son-in-law Jared Kushner have all been named in a burgeoning scandal concerning the Trump team's allegedly improper contacts with Russia.
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