News of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death has prompted a wave of celebration among Vladimir Putin’s top loyalists.
Alexey Pushkov, a Russian lawmaker from Putin’s party, described Graham as a “bloodthirsty” and “misanthropic” senator.
“All his life, he lobbied for wars, foreign interventions, bombings, and sanctions,” he wrote on Telegram.
Sergei Markov, a former Putin adviser, called Graham a “Russophobic zealot who did everything to ensure the war in Ukraine would not end.” He appeared to blame Graham personally for Trump’s moves against Moscow, writing: “He was an ally and friend of Trump, constantly leading him into his malicious Russophobia.”
Kremlin propagandist Sergei Mardan didn’t mince words as he joined the deluge of Russian condemnation of Graham.
“We certainly won’t miss him,” he said.
And lawmaker Alexei Chepa described Graham as “one of the most rabid Russophobes,” while dismissing claims of Russian involvement in his death as “nonsense.”
Kremlin-controlled media ran a flurry of articles announcing the death of “America’s top Russophobe” and reminding readers that Graham is officially designated a “terrorist and extremist” in Russia.
Graham was just back from his latest trip to Ukraine when he died, a fact that Kremlin propagandists seized upon while cheering on his death.
“You reap what you sow,” wrote pro-Kremlin correspondent Alexander Kots, noting that Graham had not lived long enough to see his push for fresh Russia sanctions go through.
“The last thing he clutched in his hands was a Ukrainian drone … You couldn’t ask for a more fitting symbol,” he wrote, referring to Graham’s visit to a Ukrainian drone factory shortly before his death.
Graham, a vocal backer of Ukraine in the war with Russia, posed for photos with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while visiting the country. Pro-Kremlin military bloggers later circulated some of the same photos showing Graham with a large red “X” over his face.
“He visited Ukraine ten times during the years of Russia’s full-scale invasion and was here with our people when it was most needed. We remained in constant dialogue, and I will miss our conversations. We met twice in just the past week,” Zelensky wrote on X.
Graham’s most recent trip to Ukraine has been a cause for speculation about the cause of his sudden death Saturday night. The senator, 71, had only returned to Washington, D.C. hours before he experienced chest pains in his home and emergency services were called.
He had been visiting Ukraine to publicize his push to step up sanctions on Russian oil and gas sales.
President Donald Trump, 80, has posted a number of tributes to Graham on his own Truth Social account, describing him as “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known.”
In 2023, responding to a Russian Interior Ministry warrant for his arrest, Graham said he would “wear the arrest warrant issued by Putin’s corrupt and immoral government as a Badge of Honor.”
He described Putin’s government as “war criminals” and said that “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.”
Putin has not made any public statements about Graham’s death.
