US Senator Lindsey Graham on Russia wanted list after war remarks

Russia has put United States Senator Lindsey Graham on a wanted list, according to Russian media reports citing the interior ministry’s database.

Ukraine’s presidential office on Friday released an edited video of a meeting between Graham and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy which first showed the senator saying, “The Russians are dying”, and then that US support was the “best money we’ve ever spent”.After Russia criticised the comments, Ukraine released a full video of the interaction, showing that the two remarks were not linked.

On Sunday, Russia’s Investigative Committee said it was opening a criminal investigation into Graham’s comments, without specifying what crime he was accused of.

Russia has previously sanctioned dozens of US officials and politicians but has rarely sought the arrest of senior officeholders.

Graham disputed Russia’s criticism of his support for Ukraine by saying he had praised the spirit of Ukrainians in resisting Russia’s invasion with US assistance.During his visit to Kyiv on Friday, Graham told Zelenskyy that Ukraine’s resistance reminded him of “our better selves in America. There was a time in America that we were this way, fighting to the last person, we were going to be free or die.”“Now you are free,” Zelenskyy responded, to which Graham replied: “And the Russians are dying.”

“Yes, but they came to our territory. We are not fighting on their territory,” Zelenskyy said.The US has given Ukraine military assistance valued at a total of $38bn since the war began in February 2022.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested that Graham’s praise of US financial backing was linked to his comments that Russians were dying.

“It is difficult to imagine a greater shame for a country than having such senators,” Peskov said.