U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has urged Ukraine to expand its conscription efforts by lowering the draft age from 27 to 25.
During a March 18 visit to Ukraine, he urged members of the Verkhovna Rada – Ukraine's unicameral parliament – to expand the pool of citizens subject to being drafted. "We need more people in the line," he remarked in front of reporters.
"I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can't believe [conscription age starts] at 27. You're in a fight for your life, so you should be serving [early] – not at 25 or 27." (Related: Russia accuses Lindsey Graham of trying to start an "apocalyptic conflict.")
The Ukrainian military accepts voluntary enlistments from those 18 and older, but exempts men under 27 from being conscripted. Since December, the Verkhovna Rada has been considering lowering the minimum draft age to 25, to meet the military's projected need for upwards of 500,000 more soldiers.
The senator for the Palmetto State also put in his two cents on the Ukraine aid fiasco at the U.S. House of Representatives. Any new aid packages for Ukraine are currently in limbo in Congress, but the Biden administration managed to cook the books to magically produce another $300 million for Kyiv. "[I'm more optimistic than I've ever been that something will get out of the House pretty soon," he said.
He also addressed Ukrainians, telling them: "No matter what we do, you should be fighting. No matter what we do, you're fighting for you." During a May 2023 trip to Ukraine, Graham gleefully remarked that "the Russians are dying."
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Graham's apparent love for sending young men to their deaths on the battlefield is ironic, given that he did not hold a gun on the battlefield. Before his senatorial tenure, he served 33 years as an active-duty and reserve Air Force officer – but as a lawyer.
His mobilization for the first Gulf War did not see him being deployed to Kuwait. Rather, he was deployed to a National Guard base in his home state of South Carolina. Graham didn't fire guns at enemy soldiers but churned out wills for service members being sent to the war zone.
Graham wants loans for Ukraine that Kyiv can't pay
Graham also defended the continued aid given to the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling it "the best money we ever spent."
While the senator opposed the latest White House request for outright aid for Kyiv, he endorsed the idea of future help coming in the form of loans – a stance first espoused by former President Donald Trump.
"I talked to [former] President Trump today, and he's dead set against this package," Graham said when he voted against the $60 billion aid bill pushed by incumbent President Joe Biden. The senator stressed his advocacy of loans during his March 18 visit to Ukraine.
"I was very direct with [Ukrainian] President Zelensky. 'You can expect me to be always be in your corner, but it's not unfair for me to ask you and other allies: Pay us back down the road, if you can.' I think the loan idea is going to be pretty popular, not just among Republicans but also among Democrats."
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Watch Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) warns that a wider war will break out if the U.S. gives up on Ukraine.
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