Senator Lindsay Graham was unquestionably in the top tier of pro-Israel 🇮🇱senators.
The strongest evidence for that characterization is his unusually close personal & political relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu. In May 2024, Netanyahu publicly said Israel had “no better friend” than Graham. Graham repeatedly visited Israel, led Senate delegations, defended continued weapons deliveries and promoted measures supporting Israel 🇮🇱 diplomatically.
Graham was also one of the Senate’s most aggressive Russia 🇷🇺 hawks.
He repeatedly visited Kyiv, praised Ukraine’s 🇺🇦incursion into Russia’s 🇷🇺 Kursk region as “bold,” pushed expansive sanctions against Russia 🇷🇺& co-led legislation aimed @ imposing severe penalties on countries purchasing Russian 🇷🇺energy. Just before his death, he was in Kyiv promoting a Russia-sanctions agreement…
Russia 🇷🇺 even placed him on a wanted list in 2023 after controversy surrounding remarks he made while visiting Ukraine—an indication of how antagonistic the relationship had become.
Bottom line: Graham was probably the Senate’s most personally connected advocates for Israel 🇮🇱 & among its loudest anti-Putin, pro-Ukraine 🇺🇦 hawks.
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Good meeting with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham @LindseyGrahamSC in Kyiv. This is already his 10th visit to our country, and we appreciate this support.
I'm grateful to Lindsey for recognizing our warriors. The stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield, the greater the chances that diplomacy will ultimately succeed. And right now, it is important that our long-range sanctions pressure on Russia be reinforced through new sanctions steps by our partners. Lindsey briefed me on the work underway in Congress on the relevant bill. We also discussed our urgent air defense needs to protect our people. During the NATO Summit in Ankara, President Trump and I reached political agreements on licensing the production of Patriots in Ukraine. It is now crucial to implement all of this at the team level.
I thank the United States, the President, and Congress for bipartisan and consistent support from both chambers.
ZelenskyyUa ↗