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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday that he would support declaring a no-fly zone over Ukraine if it is discovered that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Graham, who has called for either the arrest or assassination of Putin, criticized President Biden’s recent decision to reject a plan to send 28 fighter jets from Poland into Ukraine lest it provoke Putin and risk escalating the war into a nuclear conflict.
“The Biden administration stopped that transfer. One minute they’re saying, ‘well they’re not using the planes we have but if we give them more it would be WWIII’,” Graham told “Sunday Morning Futures”host Maria Bartiromo. “What happened is Putin threatened Biden, and he folded like a cheap suit. Give them the planes.”
“The speech in Poland by the vice president is not an adequate substitute of MiGs going into the Ukraine to help the Ukrainians defend themselves,” Graham added.
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“I’m all in. I don’t want no boots on the ground, no-fly zone yet,” he added. “But if there are chemical weapons used by Putin, that’s a war crime, and then I support a no-fly zone.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks with reporters about aid to Ukraine, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 10, 2022, in Washington.
((AP Photo/Alex Brandon))
His remarks come after the chief of NATO warned on Sunday that Russia might use chemical weapons following its invasion of Ukraine and doing so would be considered a war crime. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department have all denied Russian allegations that the U.S. funded biological weapons in existing Ukrainian laboratories near the border.
Graham dismissed concerns about a third world war if the U.S. sends jets to Ukraine, accusing the Biden administration of dragging their feet because they cannot see an outcome in which Putin loses.
“It’s not going to be WWIII. This is all a bluff. Putin knows that no one wins a nuclear exchange,” he said. “If he ordered a preemptive strike on the United States, some general would shoot him in the head.”
“If we go all in to crush the Russian economy, if we help the Ukrainians with the weapons they need, we should be taking every Soviet bloc country with S-100, S-200, S-300, any aircraft missile systems and flood them into the Ukraine to regain control of Ukrainian skies,” Graham added. “I think the Ukrainians can win but what breaks my heart is that it appears to me that Biden is more worried about Putin losing that Ukraine winning. And that is despicable and sad.”
Graham said he also fears a deal that would divide Ukraine and accept Russian control of half the country.
“I smell a sell-out coming when it comes to Ukraine,” he said. Ukraine and Israel both denied reports that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had encouraged Zelenskyy to cede to Moscow’s demands. Israel is brokering potential negotiations between Russian and Ukraine to happen in Jerusalem.
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Regarding proposals of neutrality for Ukraine, Graham said Putin “does not want a neutral Ukraine,” but rather he wants to “eradicate Ukraine.” Graham said Putin spoke in a speech last year of taking not only Ukraine, but also Moldova, Georgia and all the regions around Russia to reestablish the Soviet Union.
“I would be dead set against any deal that would require the Ukrainian people to recognize half of the Ukraine belongs to Russia by force of arms,” Graham said. “And if there’s any chemical weapons used by Putin, that would be a war crime and I would be supportive of a no-fly zone as response to that.”
“You see war crimes being committed in front of you on television every day, and the Biden administration looks at Putin as a partner for climate change and an Iran dealmaker rather than a war criminal,” Graham said. “Biden’s more afraid of Putin losing than he is excited about Ukraine winning.”
Graham said he has spoken to the Israeli embassy, and they denied having pressured Zelenskyy into taking a deal, despite pressure on their own front as Russian forces occupy Syria and Hezbollah and Iranian elements in the region threaten the state of Israel.
“How does this end? It cannot end with the sellout of Ukraine. It cannot end where we give half of the Ukraine to Putin because what he will do is consolidate his power and in a year or two from now, take the rest because he doesn’t want a buffer from NATO, he wants to reconstruct the Soviet Union,” Graham said.
Graham, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, described “chaos on an industrial scale,” as China threatened anyone who provides weapons to Taiwan, Iranians reportedly firing a missile strike toward the American consulate in Iraq, and Afghanistan becoming a “safe-haven for terrorists” after U.S. forces pulled out.
“He’s a war criminal,” Graham said of Putin. “He wants all of Ukraine eventually, and he will take it if we don’t stop him here. So, I’m not suggesting Israel is selling out Ukraine. I’m suggesting that the Biden administration has no stomach for this fight. The reason they’re slow walking military aide to the Ukrainians is because they never expected Putin to lose, and they can’t embrace the idea that he would lose. He’s a climate change partner. He’s an Iran dealmaker in the eyes of the Biden administration.”
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“In my eyes, he’s a menace to mankind. He’s a war criminal. And he needs to be taken out by his own people,” Graham continued. “If we spent more time thinking about how to help Ukraine win than worrying about how to keep Putin in power, we would be better off.”
“To my Israeli friends, I understand you have a problem in Syria, I’ve been one of your biggest champions, but what I hope the world will do is speak with one voice that Putin is a war criminal, he’s no longer a legitimate leader, and it’s time for us to get him gone,” Graham said. “It would be better to have a Russian leader that wouldn’t marry up with Iran and Syria to begin with. This is the best chance in 20 years to take this guy out. The Russian people are the vehicle to do it.”
