“I want to give Tomahawks to Ukraine,” Graham said at the Munich Security Conference.
“I want the United States to supply Tomahawks to reach out and hurt the infrastructure that [Russian dictator Vladimir] Putin counts on to build the drones and all the other stuff. I want to change the military equation.”
The senator also said Washington should increase pressure on Moscow to help bring about substantive peace talks. He said he supports a bipartisan sanctions package against Russia that has stalled in Congress for over a year and predicted President Donald Trump ultimately will sign it.
“He’s asked me, like, three times, where’s the bill? He went from like, ‘I don’t know about this’ to ‘Yeah, that’s good idea,” Graham told Politico.
Politico said Graham meant that Trump’s pressure on Europe has strengthened NATO and that allies should turn higher defense spending into more active support for Ukraine.
“When it’s all said and done, in 2028 or 2032 or 2040 — whenever he leaves — we will have a stronger NATO and a weaker Russia,” Graham said, apparently suggesting U.S. presidential term limits are optional.
On Jan. 22 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said European officials told him not to raise the
issue of delivering Tomahawks in front of the U.S. delegation "so as not
to spoil the mood," and that he was also advised not to ask about German Taurus
missiles.