On Monday, Russia’s Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham after the senator’s recent remarks regarding the war in Ukraine.
In an edited video from Graham’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, which was released by Zelenskyy’s office, the U.S. South Carolina Senator stated that “the Russians are dying” and proceeded to claim that the military assistance sent to Ukraine has been “the best money we’ve ever spent.”
The two remarks were made by Graham in different parts of the meeting still, Ukraine’s presidential office edited them into a short video together, which caused outrage in Russia.
On Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized Graham’s comments by arguing that he could not imagine “a greater shame” than a country “having such senators.”
Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal inquiry against Graham, while the Interior Ministry issued a warrant for his arrest. The video also led to many Russian officials reacting and criticizing Graham for his comments.
On Monday, the U.S. senator stated that it brought him “immense joy” that his support for Ukraine “has drawn the ire of [Russia President Vladimir] Putin’s regime” and he argued that he would “wear the arrest warrant” as a “Badge of Honor.” In his comments on Twitter, he also called Putin’s government “corrupt and immoral.”
Russia’s Investigative Committee in their criminal case has argued that the South Carolina senator has claimed with his comments that the U.S.’s “financial involvement” has led to the deaths of Russian citizens.
