Kremlin says Lindsey Graham is a drunk who’s ‘lost his mind’ for calling for Putin’s assassination
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov pounced on Sen. Lindsey Graham‘s comment calling for someone to take out Russian Vladimir Putin – questioning his sanity and suggesting he was drunk.
The slap from Putin’s mouthpiece came after Graham Tweeted Thursday night that it was time for a ‘Brutus’ to emerge amid Putin throwing Russia’s forces into a bloody invasion of Ukraine – a comment that U.S. commentators immediately warned could fuel Russian propaganda.
‘Unfortunately, in such an extremely tense atmosphere, there is a hysterical escalation of Russophobia,’ Peskov responded. ‘These days, not everyone manages to maintain sobriety, I would even say sanity, and many lose their mind,’ he added.
He was responding to Graham’s comment calling for ‘somebody’ to assassinate Putin – with a reference to Claus Von Stauffenberg, the German Army officer who tried assassinate Hitler during World War II.
‘Is there a Brutus in Russia? Graham asked. ‘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. You would be doing your country — and the world — a great service.’
Graham doubled down on his comments in an interview Friday on ‘Fox and Friends.’
‘I’m hoping someone in Russia will understand he is destroying Russia and you need to take this guy out back any means possible.’
‘I’m hoping someone in Russia will understand he is destroying Russia and you need to take this guy out back any means possible,’ Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday, repeating his call for someone to take out Russian President Vladimir Putin
He said Russia needed an ‘Elliot Ness or a Wyatt Earp’ to take action.
Graham’s Senate Republican colleague Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) pushed back on his tweet, calling it ‘an exceptionally bad idea.’
‘Use massive economic sanctions; BOYCOTT Russian oil & gas; and provide military aid so the Ukrainians can defend themselves. But we should not be calling for the assassination of heads of state,’ he tweeted.
On the other side of the political spectrum, ‘squad’ member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said such comments ‘aren’t helpful.’
‘I really wish our members of Congress would cool it and regulate their remarks as the administration works to avoid WWlll,’ she wrote.
Although Graham is one of 100 senators, Russian state controlled media is able to amplify the comment.
!['These days, not everyone manages to maintain sobriety, I would even say sanity, and many lose their mind,' countered Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/15/54954183-10577975-image-a-5_1646408319638.jpg)
‘These days, not everyone manages to maintain sobriety, I would even say sanity, and many lose their mind,’ countered Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov
‘Are you TRYING to cause escalation?’ tweeted Norm Eisen, a former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic. ‘Now Putin can say “one of the most senior U.S. Senators has called for my assassination.” Why would you want to help him? This war is causing some who know better to lose their minds.’
Graham’s assassination remarks come as the U.S. and European allies have found common cause in condemning Putin’s invasion, with Germany freezing its Nord Stream 2 pipeline project and shipping arms to the war zone, and allies like Sweden and Switzerland taking their own steps, while nations freeze luxury yachts owned by Russian oligarchs.
His tweets prompted a furious response from the Russian ambassador to the US. Anatoly Antonov called Graham’s remarks ‘unacceptable and outrageous’ and demanded an explanation.
‘The degree of Russophobia and hatred in the US towards Russia is off the charts. It’s unbelievable that a senator of a country that promotes its moral values as a ‘guiding star’ for all mankind could afford to call for terrorism as a way to achieve Washington’s goals in the international arena.
‘It’s getting scary for the fate of the United States, which has such irresponsible and unprofessional politicians at the helm.
‘We demand official explanations and decisive condemnation of this American’s criminal statements,’ he said.
Graham’s own response to Antonov was: ‘Your country is engaged in war crime in front of the entire world.’
He introduced a bipartisan resolution in the Senate calling for ‘Vladimir Putin and members of his regime to be held accountable for the numerous acts of war, aggression, and human rights abuses that have been conducted under his watch.’
Graham’s call for Putin to be assassinated, which he also made on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox, comes as the Russian leader continues to indiscriminately bomb cities after launching his savage invasion of Ukraine.
But in the latest delusional comments, Putin again insisted that Russia is not bombing Ukrainian cities – despite a mountain of evidence and amid fears that 100 people are buried under rubble after an apartment block near Kyiv was struck and after a cluster bomb attack on the city of Chernihiv which killed 49.
Putin, speaking on a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this evening, dismissed all reports of Russian attacks on apartment buildings, schools and hospitals as ‘fake’ – a day after going on TV to accuse Ukrainians of using civilians as ‘human shields’ while vowing not to back down from his attack.
As he spoke, emergency services in Ukraine warned that around 100 people could be buried in rubble after a rocket strike cleaved an apartment in the city of Boradyanka – 30 miles from Kyiv – in two, with rescue workers unable to get to them. Officials in Chernihiv also raised the number killed in a cluster bomb attack to 49.
Russian troops today seized Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine after a firefight that set part of the complex ablaze, with President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Putin of resorting to ‘nuclear terror’ and risking a catastrophe ‘six times worse than Chernobyl’ that would affect the whole continent.
In a separate tweet Graham added that the responsibility of eliminating Putin laid solely in the hands of Russian citizens.
![Senator Lindsey Graham called on Russians to carry assassinate their president Vladimir Putin](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/07/54938225-10576505-image-m-67_1646378459477.jpg)
Senator Lindsey Graham called on Russians to carry assassinate their president Vladimir Putin
![The Republican Senator invoked a Julius Caesar-style assignation of Putin who is currently leading an invasion of Ukraine during an appearance on Fox News ' Hannity show](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/07/54938239-10576505-image-a-64_1646378441296.jpg)
The Republican Senator invoked a Julius Caesar-style assignation of Putin who is currently leading an invasion of Ukraine during an appearance on Fox News ‘ Hannity show
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![School hit during the Russian air raids in Zhytomyr, a city around 80 miles to the west of Kyiv, which was struck this week](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/09/54940025-10576505-School_hit_during_the_Russian_air_raids_in_Zhytomyr_a_city_aroun-a-10_1646387292598.jpg)
School hit during the Russian air raids in Zhytomyr, a city around 80 miles to the west of Kyiv, which was struck this week
‘The only people who can fix this are the Russian people,’ Graham wrote in follow-up tweets. ‘Easy to say, hard to do. Unless you want to live in darkness for the rest of your life, be isolated from the rest of the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness you need to step up to the plate.’
Russia sparked dire warnings and international condemnation after it emerged that Russian soldiers attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine in the early hours of Friday, setting part of the plant ablaze.
![Senator Lindsey Graham (pictured) called on Russians to carry out the assassination of President Putin in his latest series of tweets](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/10/54936179-10576505-Senator_Lindsey_Graham_pictured_called_on_Russians_to_carry_out_-m-4_1646388792596.jpg)
![Anatoly Antonov](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/13/54941303-10576505-Anatoly_Antonov-a-3_1646401575982.jpg)
Senator Lindsey Graham (pictured) called on Russians to carry out the assassination of President Putin in his latest series of tweets. Graham’s comments drew a stern rebuke from Russia, with the Ambassador to Russia to the US, Anatoly Antonov, accusing him of inciting terrorism
![Graham's call for Putin to be assassinated drew a stern rebuke from Russia, with the Ambassador to Russia to the US accusing him of inciting terrorism](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/09/54941305-10576505-image-a-8_1646386940867.jpg)
Graham’s call for Putin to be assassinated drew a stern rebuke from Russia, with the Ambassador to Russia to the US accusing him of inciting terrorism
![Fire-damaged buildings at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear complex are pictured on Friday morning after coming under attack by Russian forces overnight, leading to international condemnation](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/13/54940269-10576505-Fire_damaged_buildings_at_the_Zaporizhzhya_nuclear_complex_are_p-a-4_1646401575989.jpg)
Fire-damaged buildings at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear complex are pictured on Friday morning after coming under attack by Russian forces overnight, leading to international condemnation
![On Thursday the Republican Senator invoked Julius Caesar-style assignation of the Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) who is currently leading an invasion of Ukraine](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/08/54936199-10576505-On_Thursday_the_Republican_Senator_invoked_Julius_Caesar_style_a-a-1_1646384236509.jpg)
On Thursday the Republican Senator invoked Julius Caesar-style assignation of the Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) who is currently leading an invasion of Ukraine
Graham is not the first conservative to call for Putin’s death this week.
Earlier this week Fox News host Sean Hannity said: ‘Cut the head of the snake off and you kill the snake.’
‘What we really need in this crisis, more than anything else, is a worldwide condemnation,’ Hannity said on his daytime radio show. ‘And it’s a simple new rule that if you invade an innocent sovereign country, and you kill innocent men, women and children, you don’t deserve to live. That’s the bottom line.’
‘Now currently the U.S. operates under a decades-old executive order signed by [former President] Gerald Ford that prohibits the U.S. government employees from engaging in political assassinations.
‘And I’m like, ‘You cut the head of the snake off and you kill the snake. Right now the snake is Vladimir Putin,’ Hannity added.
It comes as Russian troops have seized Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine after a firefight that set part of the complex ablaze.
Russian troops attacked the Zaporizhzhia plant in the early hours of Friday, with CCTV capturing a fierce gun battle between Putin’s men and Ukrainian defenders that sparked a fire in a six-storey training building just outside the main complex. Moscow’s men then stopped firefighters getting to the building for several hours as fighting raged.
Eventually, emergency crews were allowed to go in and douse the flames before Russian troops moved in an occupied the site, which provides a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity. The UN’s nuclear monitoring agency said that, fortunately, none of the site’s six reactors had been directly damaged and radiation levels remained normal.
However, news that Russian soldiers had put the plant at risk by opening fire close by and shelling it sparked dire warnings and international condemnation – with the head of the International Nuclear Energy Agency saying he was ‘deeply concerned’. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spoke with Zelensky after the plant was attacked, called the attack ‘reckless’ and said Putin is now ‘threatening the security of the whole of Europe’.
![Sparks erupt from an administration building (bottom right) as a live steam video shot from a larger office block behind it films Russian tanks opening fire on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the early hours of Friday morning](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/13/54933507-10576505-Sparks_erupt_from_an_administration_building_bottom_right_as_a_l-a-5_1646401575991.jpg)
Sparks erupt from an administration building (bottom right) as a live steam video shot from a larger office block behind it films Russian tanks opening fire on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the early hours of Friday morning
![A destroyed Russian tank is seen on the road near Brovary, to the east of Kyiv, after being destroyed on Friday morning](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/13/54938275-10576505-A_destroyed_Russian_tank_is_seen_on_the_road_near_Brovary_to_the-a-6_1646401575993.jpg)
A destroyed Russian tank is seen on the road near Brovary, to the east of Kyiv, after being destroyed on Friday morning
Moscow has, predictably, attempted to deny responsibility for the attack, saying its forces had come under attack by Ukrainian ‘saboteurs’ while patrolling the plant, who then set fire to the building themselves.
Ukraine is home to three other active nuclear power plants, one of which is located 70 miles from the city of Mykolaiv which Russian forces have begun attacking after seizing nearby Kherson. The other two active sites are located in the west and are not currently under threat, though that situation could change as the Russian attack branches out. Ukraine also has five sites which are out of action, but could still pose a risk if hit by shells.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of ‘nuclear terror’ and wanting to repeat the Chernobyl disaster – considered the worst nuclear disaster in history.
‘You know the word ‘Chernobyl,’ he said in a video posted on Friday morning, calling on Russia to stop its attack.
‘No country other than Russia has ever fired on nuclear power units. This is the first time in our history. In the history of mankind. The terrorist state now resorted to nuclear terror,’ he said in the video message.
President Joe Biden had spoken with his Ukrainian counterpart about the attack, while a Downing Street spokeswoman said Johnson had also spoken to Zelensky.
The spokeswoman called the situation ‘gravely concerning’, adding: ‘Both leaders agreed that Russia must immediately cease its attack on the power station and allow unfettered access for emergency services to the plant.
![Fire is seen in Mariupol at a residential area after shelling amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/09/54940381-10576505-Fire_is_seen_in_Mariupol_at_a_residential_area_after_shelling_am-a-17_1646387318283.jpg)
Fire is seen in Mariupol at a residential area after shelling amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
![A view of damaged building after the shelling is said by Russian forces in Ukraine's second-biggest city of Kharkiv](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/09/54939611-10576505-A_view_of_damaged_building_after_the_shelling_is_said_by_Russian-a-19_1646387324148.jpg)
A view of damaged building after the shelling is said by Russian forces in Ukraine’s second-biggest city of Kharkiv
Russia’s war against Ukraine is now entering its ninth day and shows no sign of stopping any time soon after talks between the two sides yesterday broke up without agreement, before Vladimir Putin went on TV to declare that he would keep battling for ‘total victory’ whilst spouting propaganda that Russia’s forces are not deliberately targeting civilians and that the ‘special operation’ is proceeding on time with all of its major objectives completed to schedule.
Fighting is expected to ramp up around the cities of Mykolaiv and Odessa, in Ukraine’s south, in the coming days – with a mass amphibious assault on Odessa feared after dozens of Russian landing ships were pictured massing near Crimea.
The port city of Kherson fell to Russian soldiers yesterday with the city of Mariupol, on the other side of the Crimean peninsula, now under heavy bombardment as Moscow’s men try to bomb it into submission – with the aim being to cut off Ukrainian access to the Black Sea and deny the government access to lucrative trading routes.
Fighting is also continuing across the north and east, with Ukrainian special forces ambushing and destroying Russian tanks and armoured vehicles at Hostomel – to the west of the city – and Brovary – to the east – late yesterday and this morning. Ukraine also claimed its jets have targeted part of a 40-mile convoy currently stalled outside the city, amid fears it would encircle the capital and bombard it.
Meanwhile Chernihiv, to the north east of Kyiv, and Kharkiv, in Ukraine’s east, were braced for more heavy shelling today after days of increasingly indiscriminate attacks including with banned cluster munitions have left dozens of civilians dead.
President Putin is also stepping up actions on the home front, intended to head off internal dissent about the war as combat proves fiercer and harder than his generals anticipated, and western sanctions destroy large chunks of the economy.
Russia’s rubber-stamp parliament on Friday approved new laws that would see anyone spreading ‘fake news’ about the invasion jailed for up to 15 years. Putin had previously threatened and shut down radio and TV stations referring to the ‘war’ or ‘invasion’ of Ukraine – which Moscow prefers to call a ‘special military operation’.
![People walk past the remains of a missile at a bus terminal, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/09/54939613-10576505-People_walk_past_the_remains_of_a_missile_at_a_bus_terminal_as_R-a-21_1646387328439.jpg)
People walk past the remains of a missile at a bus terminal, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv
![An office block in central Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has been destroyed in Russian attacks in the last few days](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/04/09/54941101-10576505-An_office_block_in_central_Kharkiv_Ukraine_s_second_largest_city-a-24_1646387330272.jpg)
An office block in central Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has been destroyed in Russian attacks in the last few days
Moscow also admitted to limiting news from outside sources getting into the country, with the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, independent Russian site Meduza and Germany’s Deutsche Welle all restricted, while access to Facebook has been blocked.
Putin has also gone after peaceful protesters, with thousands arrested while marching in rallies around the country asking for the conflict to end.
Meanwhile diplomats from NATO, the EU and G7 will hold a series of back-to-back meetings today in order to discuss next steps in the crisis, with discussions expected to focus on reinforcing NATO’s eastern flank in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, supporting non-NATO states such as Moldova and Georgia, and calls for more military support to be sent to Ukraine.
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to escalate, Graham is not the only person suggesting Putin be taken care of.
Russian businessman Alex Konanykhin offered a $1 million bounty for Vladimir Putin’s arrest – by posting a ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive’ poster online.
Konanykhin said in posts on Facebook and LinkedIn that he would pay the money for the ‘arrest of Putin as a war criminal under international laws’
Konanykhin claimed that Putin was not the President of Russia because he ‘murdered his opponenets’.
Konanykhin, 55, is a wealthy entrepreneur who served on a Russian delegation to the US in 1992 under its then President Boris Yeltsin.
But he fell out with the Kremlin after it accused him of embezzling $8m from the Russian Exchange Bank in Moscow and he was granted asylum to stay in the US in 2007.
In the post on LinkedIn, Konanykhin wrote: ‘I promise to pay $1,000,000 to the officer(s) who, complying with their constitutional duty, arrest(s) Putin as a war criminal under Russian and international laws.
‘Putin is not the Russian president as he came to power as the result of a special operation of blowing up apartment buildings in Russia, then violated the Constitution by eliminating free elections and murdering his opponents. As an ethnic Russian and a Russian citizen, I see it as my moral duty to facilitate the denazification of Russia.
‘I will continue my assistance to Ukraine in its heroic efforts to withstand the onslaught of Putin’s Orda’.