Lindsay Graham Says Trump Called Putin's Genius A "mistake"

“I think it was a mistake. I think I know what he was trying to say, you know, entering Donbass. But not. “Let’s just make it clear that Putin is not a genius, he is a war criminal,” Graham said. , a close ally of Trump.

On Wednesday, Graham unveiled a non-binding Senate resolution calling for Putin to be held accountable for a host of military actions, aggression and human rights abuses. The resolution supports a complaint filed by the Ukrainian government against Putin in the International Criminal Court, alleging that war crimes were committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Graham said he hoped if the United States backed the appeal, more nations would follow.

Russia has been hitting civilian targets and residential areas in recent days, according to information from an open source and US officials. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has accused Russia of targeting civilians, including children, and called for an international investigation into the conflict on Sunday.

The International Criminal Court is investigating and prosecuting “persons accused of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community”, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the court’s website.

So far, Graham has said he has had some positive talks with several Senate Democrats on the resolution, noting that a “phone blitz” began on Wednesday, calling on allies, including the British ambassador, asking them to support the appeal as well.

Graham joined a press conference to unveil the draft resolution with Republican Victoria Spartz, a Ukrainian-American Indiana Republican, at the US Capitol on Wednesday.

Spartz, who was born in Ukraine, used his position in Congress to call for tougher sanctions, immediate aid and more military resources, saying the Ukrainian people want more weapons – not troops – because they want to fight the Russians themselves. . It also advocates for refugees and draws attention to the horrors of the rapidly unfolding humanitarian crisis.

The Congress shows bipartisan support for Ukraine at the State of the Union address.

“The whole international community must condemn this,” Sparz said. “It’s criminal, it’s pure murder.

Graham said he expected Russia’s strategy to be “scorched earth” as Putin became “more desperate” and “as you can see, this is what we need to get international law organizations to get behind this complaint.”

“The world has let him get away with too much too long,” Graham added of Putin. “He blindly stole the Russian people, he killed Russian citizens to keep his iron grip on the country.”

Graham said there was no way to end this conflict without intense economic sanctions and the armament of Ukraine and NATO’s Eastern European partners.

“For the Russian people, I doubt you can hear my words, but our battle is not with you, you are a victim of Putin as much as anyone, perhaps more than most, and I just wanted to let you know that we understand the difference between the Russian people. and Putin, but we will need your help. To put justice on the table, you will have to suffer, “Graham said.

Graham said Putin’s suspension is crucial in sending a strong message to other leaders who may want to threaten a rule-based world order and pose other potential threats to global security.

“If Ukraine falls to Putin, it will have terrible consequences for us as a nation,” he said. “China will receive a signal that it can take over Taiwan. The Iranians will believe that we have no will to stop their nuclear ambitions. The opposite is true. If the Chinese see the world unite around Ukraine and the rule of law applies to Putin’s war crimes, they may not enter Taiwan. “

He continued: “History repeats itself, for better or worse. We tend to forget the lessons of the past. Soothing evil never turns out to be very good, and we have been doing it for too long when it comes to Putin.”

Jeff Green of CNN contributed to this report.