United States senator, Lindsey Graham, has come under heavy criticism from all corners of Washington after calling for the assassination of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to end the Ukraine war.
On Thursday, Graham who is a former Air Force lawyer and longtime defense hawk, wrote in a tweet that “the only people who can fix this” are Russians.
“Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out,” Graham said on Twitter.
“You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.”
The tweet had attracted the outrage of some of the most conservative and liberal members of Congress.
White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, said that it is “not the position of the United States government”.
Texas Republican senator, Ted Cruz, called it “an exceptionally bad idea”.
Georgia lawmaker, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican, who was denounced this week for speaking at an event organised by a white nationalist, said Graham’s tweet was “irresponsible, dangerous and unhinged.”
Graham’s comment comes at a time when White House is orchestrating a tough Western response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while trying to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia for fear of triggering a broader war, Business Standard reports.
Russian President’s raising of the alert level on his country’s nuclear weapons stirred fears that he may be willing to consider the unthinkable step of using them.
The U.S. has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine and hasn’t agreed to a no-fly zone over Ukraine that could lead to clashes with Russian warplanes.
