The head of a Russian state broadcaster absurdly threatened Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in the wake of the Republican’s recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a video from their May 26 meeting, Graham is heard telling the Ukrainian leader U.S. aid to support Ukraine was the “best money we’ve ever spent.”
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“If [Lindsey] Graham really said that the money for the killing of Russians is the best money the U.S. ever spent — I hope that in our country, the sons or grandchildren of Sudoplatov [the lieutenant] are alive, Sudoplatov’s pupils, or the descendants of his pupils,” Margarita Simonyan said, according to a translated video posted by Russian Media Monitor.
“It’s not even hard. We have his address. We have his telephone number,” Simonyan said.
I will wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin’s corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor. 🏅 https://t.co/0L2I5PfuoM
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) May 29, 2023
According to the Russian news agency Tass, Russia’s interior ministry put Graham on a wanted list for “Russophobic remarks,” ordering his arrest on Monday under the country’s criminal code.
Graham responded to the arrest warrant on Twitter Monday morning by saying, “I will wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin’s corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor.”
Later, Ukraine released a longer video of Graham’s visit, showing that the senator made the two remarks in different parts of the conversation.
“If U.S. Sen. 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, according to Reuters.
Russia based the charges on the edited video of his meeting with Zelensky, and Zakharova noted in the video posted by Russian Media Monitor that there was a split between the two remarks.
“To know that my commitment to Ukraine has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime brings me immense joy,” Graham added Monday. “I will continue to stand with and for Ukraine’s freedom until every Russian soldier is expelled from Ukrainian territory.”
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“I have no ill will towards anyone,” Zakharova continued, adding that their religion urges forgiveness, “but no one tells us to reward these types of things.”
“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,” Graham tweeted. “Come and make your best case. See you in The Hague!”
