Russia’s Ministry of the Interior has issued an arrest warrant against Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham for his comments on the war in Ukraine.
In an edited video of his Friday meeting with the Ukrainian president released by Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, Graham, a South Carolina Republican, noted that “Russians are dying” and described US military assistance to the country. as “the best money ever spent”.
Although Graham appears to have made these two comments in different parts of the conversation, the short video released by Ukraine’s presidential office put the phrases together, which caused outrage in Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Sunday that “it is difficult to imagine a greater shame for the country than having such senators”.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s main criminal investigation agency, has opened a criminal inquiry against Graham, and the Ministry of Interior has issued an arrest warrant, according to its official register of wanted criminal suspects today.
Graham is among more than 200 members of the US Congress that Moscow banned last year from entering Russia.
The republican senator highlighted on the social network Twitter that the commitment shown towards Ukraine “attracted the wrath of the Putin regime”, still expressing “immense joy”.
“I will continue to defend the freedom of Ukraine until all Russian soldiers are expelled from Ukrainian territory. I will use the arrest warrant issued by Putin’s corrupt and immoral government as a ‘badge of honour’,” he said.
The Russian military offensive in Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).
