Senator Graham spoke about the need to increase support for Ukraine. He emphasized that Russia wants to seize Ukraine’s trillions of dollars worth of natural resources to fuel its military machine.
Russian media have been spreading disinformation claiming to expose the “real reasons” for U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine. The propaganda, citing Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, claims that the U.S. is allegedly involved in fighting Russia for access to mineral resources on Ukrainian territory:
“Biden sacrificed democracy for hydrocarbons… For U.S. politicians, all these slogans about democracy, freedom, equality and fraternity have always been, are and will remain a pretext for seizing the wealth of various countries around the world,” Russian media reported.
This disinformation is based on a misrepresented excerpt from an interview with Senator Lindsey Graham. During an analysis program on CBS on June 9, 2024, the Senator advocated increased U.S. support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. He made no statements about U.S. participation in the war against Russia – only the armed forces of Ukraine are resisting Russian aggression.
Graham noted that Russian dictator Putin intends to restore the Russian Empire by force, and if the U.S. stops supporting Ukraine, Russia will continue to advance and attempt to occupy other European countries. He expressed confidence that if Putin succeeds, a wave of unchecked aggression will engulf not only Europe, but Taiwan and other nations.
In addition, Graham highlighted Russia’s predatory motives, which began with the occupation of Ukraine’s resource-rich regions in 2014. The senator noted that if Russia wins, it will gain access to $10-12 trillion worth of Ukrainian mineral resources, which will fuel the military machines of both Russia and China. Graham concluded that after winning the war, Ukraine would become “the best business partner” for democratic countries.
“It’s about a megalomaniac wanting to create the Russian Empire by force of arms. If you don’t stop him, there goes Taiwan… They’re sitting on 10 to $12 trillion of critical minerals in- in Ukraine. They could be the richest country in all of Europe. I don’t want to give that money and those assets to Putin to share with China. If we help Ukraine now, they can become the best business partner we ever dreamed of, that 10 to $12 trillion of critical mineral assets could be used by Ukraine and the West, not given to Putin and China. This is a very big deal how Ukraine ends. Let’s help them win a war we can’t afford to lose. Let’s find a solution to this war. But they’re sitting on a gold mine. To give Putin 10 or $12 trillion for critical minerals that he will share with China is ridiculous,” said Graham.
This narrative is part of a broader Kremlin disinformation campaign claiming that Western nations “started the war in Ukraine to divide it.” Read analyses of similar narratives in StopFake pieces such as Fake: Western Countries Begin Partition of Ukrainian Regions and Fake: Germany ‘Reveals the Real Reason’ for War in Ukraine – EU Wants Ukrainian Mineral Resources.
