US Senator Lindsey Graham denies calling the deaths of Russians “a better issue”. [les Etats-Unis aient] never done”
During an interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev on Friday, whose video was published on Ukraine’s presidential channel Telegram, Republican Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina senator, called American aid to the country “the best expense there is.” [les Etats-Unis aient] never done”. A statement which, through an unfortunate editing of the video of the meeting, immediately precedes another of his remarks: “And the Russians are dying. »
This sequence of comments, which appear to be unrelated, was immediately extracted – and taken out of context – by the Telegram Shot channel (near the Kremlin), which rushed to comment on these images: “Lindsey Graham said at a meeting with Mr. Zelenskyy that the Russians died thanks to “the best costs that …”. [les Etats-Unis aient] never done”. And to add the reaction of Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov: “One can hardly imagine a greater shame for the country than to have such senators.”
However, in the full version of the recorded conversation provided by the Office of the President of Ukraine and viewed by Portal, the sentence about the death of the Russians and the one about American investments do not follow each other. Lindsey Graham tells Vlodymyr Zelensky that the Ukrainian resistance reminds her of a time when Americans fought to the last man: “There was a time in America when it was us.” [dans la même situation], fight to the end to be free or die. Volodymyr Zelenskyi replies: “Now you are free. We will be too. At this point the American senator replied: “And the Russians are dying. The President of Ukraine then replied: “Yes, but they invaded our territory.” We do not wage war on their territory. »
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, meanwhile, described Lindsey Graham in flowery terms: “The old fool Senator Lindsey Graham said that the United States had never spent money more successfully than on assassinations of Russians.” He would not have should do. »
Words criticized by Lindsey Graham in a press release sent to Portal on Sunday: “As usual, the Russian propaganda machine is working hard. He adds that he told Volodymyr Zelenskyy “that Ukraine has adopted the American mantra ‘live free or die.’ It was a good investment by the United States to help liberate Ukraine from Russian war criminals.” He addressed the Vice-President of the Security Council: “Mr. Medvedev, if you want the Russians to stop dying in Ukraine, retreat.” Stop the invasion. Stop War Crimes. The truth is that you and [le président Vladimir] Putin no longer cares about Russian soldiers. »
The Russian Interior Ministry has taken up the case, RIA Novosti reports on Monday, May 29. According to the news agency, the investigative committee was ordered to open criminal proceedings after the US senator described the comments as “russophobic”.