An arrest warrant has been issued by Russia for US Senator Lindsey Graham after a manipulated video appeared to point out him celebrating the deaths of Russian soldiers. The edited footage, which combined two separate situations, was shared by the workplace of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the 2 met in Kyiv last week. The video showed Senator Graham praising assist to Kyiv as “the best cash we’ve ever spent” and mentioning Russian troop casualties. The senior Republican senator has responded that he’ll put on the warrant as a “Badge of Honour.”
“To know that my commitment to Ukraine has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime brings me immense joy,” Senator Graham wrote on Twitter. “I will continue to face with and for Ukraine’s freedom until each Russian soldier is expelled from Ukrainian territory.” He also challenged his Russian “friends” to submit to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
Following Bootleg from Moscow final week, Ukraine launched the full, unedited video on social media. The footage revealed that Senator Graham’s comments have been made throughout two separate elements of the meeting, which have been edited by President Zelensky’s workplace to appear consecutive. In the first clip, he acknowledged the success of US navy aid to Ukraine in resisting Russia’s advance. In a later, unrelated clip, he noted that “the Russians are dying.”
However, Russia’s overseas ministry accused Kyiv of trying to protect Senator Graham from criticism and urged him to publicly clarify if his words had been misrepresented. Russia’s interior ministry, which positioned Senator Graham on the wanted listing, didn’t specify the crimes he had allegedly committed..