OAN Staff Blake Wolf
2:05 PM – Sunday, March 9, 2025
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham warned on Sunday that ending Ukrainian aid would be “worse than Afghanistan.”
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“The goal is to end the war honorably and justly. You know Zelensky blew it in the White House. We’ve been working on this minerals deal for a very long time, but we are where we are. Yeah, I am worried about cutting off intelligence and weapons to Ukraine as long as the fighting is going on. If we pull the plug on Ukraine it would be worse than Afghanistan,” Graham stated.
“I don’t think President Trump has any desire to do that but until we have a ceasefire, I would give Ukraine what they need in terms of intelligence and weapons to defend themselves,” he continued.
Graham’s (R-S.C.) comments follow after President Donald Trump announced a freeze on Ukrainian aid and intelligence sharing in an attempt to pressure Kyiv into a peace deal.
Graham’s reference to Afghanistan was pointing towards the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021, which ended up killing 13 servicemembers, and injuring another 45, along with the death of 170 Afghan civilians.
“In terms of Russia, I’ll be introducing sanctions on their banking sector and their energy sector next week, urging them to get to the table,” Graham added. “If they don’t engage in ceasefire and peace talks with the administration, we should sanction the hell out of them.”
The call for economic sanctions follows after President Donald Trump warned Russia on Friday that he would place sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a peace deal is agreed upon.
“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED. To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
The peace negotiations have proven difficult following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House on February 28th, which ended in a shouting match between Zelensky and President Trump.
Trump accused Zelensky of “gambling with World War III” while adding his decisions are “very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have.”
The meeting was reportedly supposed to end with a mineral deal secured, where the United States would receive Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, which would give the U.S. more incentive to protect Ukraine’s national interests.
“We’re trying to integrate our economies. We’re trying to make sure that Ukraine has value to the American economy – a win-win situation,” Graham added.
Since the public feud with President Trump, Zelensky revealed that he “regrets” the way the meeting went down.
“It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive,” Zelensky stated, adding that he is ready to work under President Trump’s “strong leadership” to reach a peace agreement.
Additionally, Zelensky issued a more recent update on Friday, stating: “We continue working with partners who seek peace just as we do, focusing on the necessary steps. Next week, there will be a lot of work here in Europe, with the U.S., and in Saudi Arabia – we are preparing a meeting to accelerate peace and strengthen the foundations of security.”
“Today, intense work with President Trump’s team has been ongoing at various levels – numerous calls. The topic is clear – peace as soon as possible, security as reliably as possible. Ukraine is fully committed to a constructive approach,” Zelensky added.
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