Graham says Kyiv’s rising combat power could help end war in coming months

Graham made the remarks at a briefing in Kyiv on July 10, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

“We have a unique moment here,” Graham said.

“In the coming months, if we do everything right, increase Ukraine’s lethality, convince people to help us fight Putin rather than support him, we can end this war.”

Ukraine needs more interceptor missiles to defend itself and technologies that would allow it to counter Russian forces more effectively, Graham said.

Countries that support Putin must also be made to understand that they should be “part of the solution, not part of the problem,” he added.

Speaking about his sanctions bill targeting Russia, Graham said it was designed to encourage those buying Russian oil and gas to find new sources of supply.

“The fact that we give you time to find new sources will be an incentive for you to find them,” Graham said.

“But this is a decision you must make yourself. The sooner this becomes clear to Putin, the sooner it becomes clear to countries like China that helping Putin comes at a price, the sooner this war will end.”

Graham also said the path to ending Russia’s war against Ukraine “runs through Beijing more than through Washington, Kyiv or Moscow.”

He said he had “never been as optimistic as today” that there was now a formula to end the war.

“This country, whose troop numbers are 10 times smaller than the enemy’s, has over time managed to dominate on the battlefield, inflicting heavy losses at rates exceeding those of World War II,” Graham said.

“Among Russians, the number of those killed in action exceeds the number of wounded, and that is extremely rare in the history of warfare. Why? Because of the courage and innovation of the Ukrainian military.”

U.S. President Donald Trump called Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russia “an escalation that could help” end the war during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara on July 8.

Ukrainian long-range drones struck a number of strategic facilities inside Russia over the past week, including the Omsk Oil Refinery, Zelenskyy said July 10.

There is now no Russian oil refinery that Ukrainian weapons cannot reach, he said.

Units of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces have also struck 48 Russian vessels over the past 120 hours, including ships from Russia’s shadow fleet.

Ukraine has become stronger both on the battlefield and in the air, while Russia no longer has an advantage on the front line, Zelenskyy said July 9.

All of Ukraine’s partners recognize this, he added.