Russia on Tuesday added Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to its list of "extremists and terrorists."
Rosfinmonitoring, Russia's state financial watchdog, included the South Carolina lawmaker in its updated database. Newsweek reached out to Rosfinmonitoring via email for comment.
Graham has been one of the most outspoken GOP supporters of Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his attack on the country in February 2022. Graham even called on President Joe Biden to "do more" to help Ukraine after visiting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv last May.
However, Graham drew criticism last week after voting against sending billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, Israel and U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific. Speaking about the foreign aid deal on the Senate floor, Graham noted that former President Donald Trump didn't support the package.
The Moscow Times—an independent online newspaper—noted that being on Rosfinmonitoring's registry of "extremists and terrorists" means Russia can freeze designees' financial accounts.
"It is unlikely that Graham has a bank account in Russia or plans to travel to the country," the publication added.
Graham alluded to this fact when he addressed the "terrorist" designation in a Tuesday post on X (formerly Twitter).
"There goes all my rubles!" the senator wrote.
Though Rosfinmonitoring offered no explanation for why it has added Graham to the list, The Moscow Times wrote that Russia's Interior Ministry previously issued an arrest warrant for Graham last year after an investigative committee ordered criminal charges against him.
At the time of the warrant, the Interior Ministry cited a viral video that it said showed Graham talking with Zelensky about how U.S. aid caused the deaths of Russian citizens. According to the ministry, Graham said in the clip that U.S. funds used toward killing Russians is "the best money we ever spent."
Along with the arrest warrant, Graham was condemned by Kremlin officials like Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharov and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who called the remarks "a disgrace to the U.S."
A later investigation by Newsweek Misinformation Watch found Graham's comments were misleadingly edited into the clip that went viral.
A longer version of his conversation with Zelensky showed that his remarks about the "best money we ever spent" were not related to a previous statement about Russian deaths.
Graham himself indicated his comments were misrepresented in the edited video, telling Reuters he had simply praised the spirit of Ukrainians in defending against the Russian invasion with assistance from Washington. But he also welcomed the arrest warrant.
"I will wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin's corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor," Graham said in a statement at the time.
He said: "To know that my commitment to Ukraine has drawn the ire of Putin's regime brings me immense joy. I will continue to stand with and for Ukraine's freedom until every Russian soldier is expelled from Ukrainian territory."
Update 02/20/24 3:55 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include an online post from Sen. Graham.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
