Russia’s state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring has added U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham to its list of “extremists and terrorists.”
Russia’s Interior Ministry issued an arrest warrant for Graham in May after Russia’s Investigative Committee chairman Alexander Bastrykin ordered criminal charges to be pressed against him.
“A video circulating online shows U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham saying during a meeting with the president of Ukraine that U.S. financial support is causing the deaths of Russian citizens,” the Interior Ministry said at the time.
In the video, the American politician told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in two separate statements that “Russians are dying” and “It’s the best money we ever spent.”
The Russian authorities, including the Kremlin and Russia’s Foreign Ministry, responded to the video as though Graham’s two statements about Russian soldiers dying and U.S. military aid to Ukraine were directly connected.
Graham dismissed Moscow’s criticism, telling Reuters he will “wear the arrest warrant issued by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor.”
Being added to Russia’s registry of “extremists and terrorists” allows the authorities to freeze designees’ Russian bank accounts before a court verdict.
It is unlikely that Graham has a bank account in Russia or plans to travel to the country.