Russia's Interior Ministry on Monday issued an arrest warrant for US Senator Lindsey Graham following his comments about the war in Ukraine. In a redacted video of his meeting Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that was released by the Ukrainian leader's office, Senator Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, noted that "the Russians are dying" and described military aid to United States for the country as "the best we ever spent".
While Senator Graham appears to have made the comments in separate parts of the conversation, the short video from the Ukrainian presidential office places them next to each other, sparking outrage in Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on Sunday that "it is hard to imagine a greater shame for the country than having such senators." The Commission of Inquiry, the nation's highest criminal investigative agency, made the decision to open an investigation against Senator Graham. The Interior Ministry then issued an arrest warrant for him, according to official documents published on Monday.
Senator Graham is among more than 200 US members of Congress who were barred from entering Russia by Moscow last year. Senator Graham commented on Twitter, saying: "The news that my commitment to Ukraine has incurred the wrath of the Putin regime delighted me immensely."
"I will continue to support Ukraine's freedom until every Russian soldier is expelled from Ukrainian territory," he tweeted. "I will wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin's corrupt and immoral government as a badge of honor"./VOA