Russia issues arrest warrant for Sen. Lindsey Graham
Russia on Monday issued an arrest warrant for US Sen. Lindsey Graham in the wake of his strong comments about the war in Ukraine — with the South Carolina Republican vowing to wear it as a “Badge of Honor.”
The Kremlin’s Interior Ministry put Graham on a wanted list just days after he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv and sparked outrage by appearing to say Russian deaths from United States’ funding was “the best money we’ve ever spent.”
In an edited video of the Friday meeting, which was released by Zelenskiy’s office, Graham had said that “the Russians are dying” and described the American military assistance to Ukraine as “the best money we’ve ever spent.”
The US Senator’s remarks were made in different parts of their conversation and didn’t appear to be linked, but were edited together in the short clip.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s top criminal investigation agency, moved to open a criminal inquiry against Graham following the remarks, though it did not specify what crime he was suspected of.
Graham quickly fired back, tweeting on Monday: “I will wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin’s corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor.”
“To know that my commitment to Ukraine has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime brings me immense joy,” he continued.
“Finally, here’s an offer to my Russian ‘friends’ who want to arrest and try me for calling out the Putin regime as being war criminals: I will submit to jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court if you do. Come and make your best case. See you in The Hague!”
The initial video of Graham’s remarks triggered widespread outrage across Moscow with its foreign ministry accusing Western media of trying to shield the senator from backlash.
The ministry added that Graham should publicly state if he feels his words were taken out of context in the edited video.
“If US Senator Lindsey Graham considers his words were taken out of context by the Ukrainian regime and he doesn’t actually think in the way presented then he can make a statement on video with his phone,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a video posted on Telegram.
“Only then will we know: does he think the way that was said or was it a performance by the Kyiv regime?”
Graham has said he simply praised the spirit of Ukrainians in resisting a Russian invasion with assistance provided by Washington.
He added that he’d also mentioned to Zelenskiy “that Ukraine has adopted the American mantra, ‘Live Free or Die.’”
“It has been a good investment by the United States to help liberate Ukraine from Russian war criminals,” the senator said.
With Post wires
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