Graham: Biden visit to Ukraine sends ‘right signal’ at ‘right time’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) praised President Biden’s surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday, saying the trip to the war-torn country was “the right signal to send at the right time.”

“I am very pleased that President Biden took the time and effort to visit Ukraine, and meet with President Zelensky,” Graham said in a statement. “This was the right signal to send at the right time. A presidential visit to Ukraine, along with the statements made by Vice President Harris at the Munich Security Conference that Russia is committing crimes against humanity in Ukraine, are a powerful combination.”

Graham referenced Harris’s comments in Germany last week, when she revealed that the U.S. had formally determined that Russia had committed crimes against humanity in its invasion of Ukraine.

The praise from the South Carolina senator comes as other Republicans have heaped criticism on the overseas visit by Biden. The likes of Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) blasted Biden for dodging domestic responsibilities back home in favor of the trip to Ukraine.

And while Biden announced $500 million more in support to Ukraine on his visit, Graham called for the administration to go further in its backing of Ukraine. He said the U.S. should send advanced fighter jets and designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

“For the visits and statements to matter to their fullest extent, decisive action must immediately follow,” Graham said. “We must designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law. That would also help ensure any lethal assistance to Russia, provided by China, is devastating to the Chinese economy … we should start immediately training Ukrainian pilots and maintainers, and provide them the advanced fighter jets to not only win this war, but deter future aggression.”