Politics

US Senator Lindsey Graham Placed on Kremlin's Wanted List

MAY 29 2023·Updated FEB 3 2024

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Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Facts

On Monday, Russia’s Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for US Senator Lindsey Graham following the lawmaker's comments on the conflict in Ukraine released last Friday.
The Associated Press
In a video released by Ukraine’s presidential office — splicing together differing periods of Graham’s conversation with Ukraine's Pres. Zelenskyy — the Senator’s comments have led to backlash from Russia.
ABC News
Within the video, the Republican stated that "the Russians are dying" and, later on, added that the US funding for Ukraine has been "the best money we've ever spent."
CBS News
Russia’s Investigative Committee also opened a criminal case against the senator, claiming that the video shows Graham admitting that the financial investment of the US in Ukraine is directly causing Russian fatalities.
The Hill
While Ukraine has subsequently released the unedited, full-length version of the video, Russia’s foreign ministry has urged Graham to clarify publicly whether or not he believes Ukraine took his comments out of context.
Reuters
In response to Russia’s sanctions against him, Graham stated that he will wear the arrest warrant as a "badge of honor," also claiming that knowing he has "drawn the ire” of the Putin regime has given him "immense joy."
Live5News

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The Spin

Pro-Russia narrative

What Graham said cannot be unsaid, and now the Western propaganda machine — led by the likes of the BBC and Reuters — is attempting to de-escalate the situation. The idea that Graham’s statements were taken out of context is a clumsy and shameless excuse to hide the continued hatred of Russia by the West.

TASS

Anti-Russia narrative

The posted comments by Graham were originally edited together, and it's incredibly unlikely anything will come from Russia’s arrest warrant. With the US and Russia lacking an extradition treaty, and relations between the West and Russia at a low, it is difficult to see this absurd posturing by the Kremlin progressing any further.

The Western Journal