Russia has launched a criminal investigation into US Senator Lindsey Graham for ‘Russophobia’, reports Russian state news agency Tass. An arrest warrant has been issued against him.

Republican Graham was in Kyiv last week and is said to have made anti-Russian remarks in a conversation with Ukrainian President Zelensky. In fact, it’s an awkwardly edited video that allows the Russian to repeat his statement from z‘to tear off the bandages.

In the initial video released by Ukraine itself, Graham said there was a time in the US when people too fought to the death for freedom. To that Zelensky said “And now you are free. We will too.’ Graham replied, “And the Russians are dying.” On another occasion, Graham said, “The best investment we’ve ever made.”

The Russian interpretation is that Graham called killing Russians the best American investment ever. However, the full video, later released by Ukraine, shows that the two sentences are not related. After Graham’s comments about Russians dying, Zelensky said: ‘True, but they are coming to our territory. We are not fighting on their territory.’

The Russians seized the video with both hands to attack Graham and the US. Graham complied Dmitry Medvedev of the Russian Security Council ‘stupid old man’. Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov added that he “couldn’t imagine a greater shame for a country than to have senators like that.”

According to Graham, ‘Russia’s propaganda machine is running full throttle’. He also addressed Medvedev: “If you want Russians to stop dying in Ukraine, withdraw troops. Actually you and Putin don’t care about the Russian army at all.’

Joram Bolle

Also read: With the new law on ‘Russophobia’, Moscow has unequivocally voted for further repression