Republican Senator Lindsey Graham predicts a record level of military support for Ukraine from the United States after Donald Trump makes a major statement regarding Russia on Monday.
As reported by Ukrinform, Graham made the remarks in an interview with CBS News.
“The game regarding Putin’s invasion of Russia is about to change. I expect in the coming days you will see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,” the Senator stressed.
According to Graham, this assistance will be funded through the U.S. president’s drawdown authority, which Trump will use for the first time during his current term in office.
The United States still has $3.86 billion allocated under this authority for Ukraine from the Biden administration.
“Putin made a miscalculation here. For six months, President Trump tried to entice Putin to the table. The attacks have gone up, not down,” Graham emphasized.
The Senator added, “One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump”. He further stated, “And you just watch. In the coming days and weeks, there’s going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table”.
Graham emphasized that the idea of selling American weapons to NATO allies to support Ukraine “is very relevant.”
“We’ve given Ukraine a lot. We’ve given them money. We’ve given them military aid. We now have a minerals agreement with Ukraine that’s worth trillions of dollars. So I don’t want to get ahead of the president, but stay tuned about seized assets,” the Senator added.
He stressed that the only way to end the war in Ukraine is to pressure countries assisting Russia to “ make them choose between the American economy and helping Putin”. Graham’s proposed legislation aims to increase tariffs on nations purchasing Russian energy.
“The big offender here is China, India, and Brazil,” the Senator noted. He addressed these countries directly: “ China, India, and Brazil, you’re about to get hurt big time if you keep helping Putin”.
Graham added that he and Democratic co-sponsor Senator Richard Blumenthal would have dinner on Monday in Washington with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to discuss Russia’s war.
He stressed that a turning point is approaching in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As reported by Ukrinform, Graham’s bill, which has 85 co-sponsors, proposes new sanctions against Russia, including a 500% tariff on goods from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, and uranium.
The legislation would also give the U.S. president the authority to lift sanctions without congressional approval.
Trump earlier announced that he would make a major statement regarding Russia on July 14.
Source: Senator Graham predicts record arms deliveries to Ukraine following Trump’s upcoming statement
