Lindsey Graham criticized for telling Volodymyr Zelensky ‘Russians are dying, it’s the best money we ever spent’

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham was in Kyiv on Friday, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. A particular dialogue from his speech to Zelensky regarding US aid being given to war-torn Ukraine went viral on social media as people criticized the policy-maker on humanitarian grounds.

“The Russians are dying… It’s the best money we ever spent,” Graham was heard in the clip telling Zelensky. Although Zelensky did not appear to be reacting to the words, preferring to keep a diplomatic smile pasted on his face, many people on social media pointed out the insensitive undertone of Graham’s dialogue, staring with independent journalist Ed Krassenstein.

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“There are several things wrong with him making this irresponsible, pathetic statement to Zelensky: 1) He just gave Russia a soundbite that they can use to demonize America and allies even further. 2) No deaths are good deaths. Most of the Russian soldiers are fighting because they have no alternative. As of 2021, all male citizens aged 18–27 were subject to conscription for 1 year of active duty military service in the Russian armed forces. 3) The US needs to paint the war as a mission to defend Ukraine, not an offensive against Russians. This comment does the latter. The proper language would have been something like ‘The Russian invaders are getting pushed back., it’s the best money we ever spent.’ For the record I support our financial backing of Ukraine. I just wish that our politicians would be more responsible, all around,” he wrote in an extensive tweet.

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Soon many people joined in. Check out some of the reactions below:

During his meeting with Zelensky, Graham added that he had never been more optimistic than in the current scenario that Russian invaders would be expelled from Ukraine. She stressed the importance of long-term commitments by adding quality to the Ukrainian military against Russian numbers, the senator said. He said that he was confident that the Ukrainian counteroffensive will be able to show results in the coming days and weeks. He also added that the final chapter of the battle for Bahmut was not over.