Associated Press

Russia issues arrest warrant for Lindsey Graham over Ukraine comments

Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, shown speaking at a recent Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Joe Biden’s proposed budget, is the target of a new Russian arrest warrant.

AP

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Interior Ministry on Monday issued an arrest warrant for U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham following his comments related to the fighting in Ukraine.

In an edited video of his meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that was released by Zelensky’s office, Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, noted that “the Russians are dying” and described the U.S. military assistance to the country as “the best money we’ve ever spent.”

While Graham appeared to have made the remarks in different parts of the conversation, the short video by Ukraine’s presidential office put them next to each other, causing outrage in Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented Sunday that “it’s hard to imagine a greater shame for the country than having such senators.”

The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top criminal-investigation agency, has moved to open an inquiry against Graham, and the Interior Ministry followed up by issuing a warrant for his arrest as indicated Monday by its official record of wanted criminal suspects.