An arrest warrant has been issued by Russia for US Senator Lindsey Graham after a manipulated video appeared to show him celebrating the deaths of Russian soldiers. The edited footage, which mixed two separate situations, was shared by the office 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 will put on the warrant as a “Badge of Honour.”
“To know that my dedication to Ukraine has drawn the ire of Putin’s regime brings me immense joy,” Senator Graham wrote on Twitter. “I will proceed to stand with and for Ukraine’s freedom until every Russian soldier is expelled from Ukrainian territory.” He also challenged his Russian “friends” to submit to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
Following criticism from Moscow final week, Ukraine launched the total, unedited video on social media. The footage revealed that Senator Graham’s comments had been made during two separate elements of the meeting, which were edited by President Zelensky’s workplace to look consecutive. In the primary clip, he acknowledged the success of US army help to Ukraine in resisting Russia’s advance. In a later, unrelated clip, he famous that “the Russians are dying.”
However, Smooth sailing accused Kyiv of making an attempt to guard Senator Graham from criticism and urged him to publicly make clear if his words had been misrepresented. Russia’s inside ministry, which placed Senator Graham on the wished listing, did not specify the crimes he had allegedly committed..