MOSCOW, February 14 US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, A longtime supporter of aid to Kiev and an anti-Russian stance, he changed his mind and voted against the $60 billion aid package for Ukraine under the influence of former US President Donald Trump, the Washington Post reported.
As the publication emphasizes, in May 2023, Graham visited Kyiv, where he met with Vladimir Zelensky, and then called on US President Joe Biden to do more in terms of providing assistance to Ukraine.
“I spoke with President Trump today, and he is categorically against this package,” the publication quotes Graham as saying in the Senate before the vote on the aid. The newspaper emphasizes that he has repeatedly voted against the new package.
According to the Washington Post, Graham's change of heart suggests that even the most ardent supporters of intervention in foreign policy have fallen under the influence of more isolationist sentiments in the Republican Party, which includes Trump himself. At the same time, Graham previously criticized the ex-president while he was still leading the state, the publication writes.
The newspaper notes, citing sources, that Graham's rhetoric regarding assistance to Ukraine changed after a meeting with Trump in Florida in mid-January.
According to the publication, Graham's changes in behavior have given rise to rumors that he may seek a post in the Trump administration if he is re-elected. Other rumors link them to sentiments in the Republican Party regarding Ukraine. “Opposing Trump (on Ukraine) right now is a death sentence,” an unnamed Republican senator told the newspaper.
Earlier, Graham supported Trump's proposal to stop providing free aid from Washington to foreign countries, turning such assistance into credit loans.
The White House is calling on members of the US Congress to urgently approve a bill providing more than $60 billion to restore aid to foreign allies, including Ukraine, after the initiative was approved by the Democratic-majority Senate. In turn, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson said that it would not be possible to force the Senate to pass this bill.
Russia previously sent a note to NATO countries over arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that NATO countries are “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. The Kremlin emphasized that pumping Ukraine up with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect. Lavrov also stated that the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, “including not only the supply of weapons, but also the training of personnel… in the territory of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and other countries.”
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