Senator Warns India, China: Purchases Fund Russia’s War
After Russia’s deadly Ukraine strike killing 23 in Kyiv, Republican Senator warned India, China purchases fuel Moscow’s war.
“Your Purchases Killed Innocents”: Senator Graham’s Stark Warning to India, China Over Russian Oil
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has once again sharpened his criticism of India, China, Brazil, and other nations still engaging in the Russian oil trade. He accused them of directly fueling Moscow’s “war machine” in Ukraine, warning that the consequences of their purchases are being paid in blood by innocent civilians.
The Republican Senator’s latest remarks came just hours after Russia launched a devastating missile barrage on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early Thursday morning, killing at least 23 people and injuring dozens more. Among the victims, officials said, were children and elderly residents who had been sheltering in their homes.
including children, being killed?” Graham wrote in a strongly worded post on X.
“India is experiencing the cost of supporting Putin. To the rest, you will soon too,” he added, referencing the recent U.S. decision under former President Donald Trump to impose a punishing 50 percent tariff on Indian imports.
Graham’s Long-Standing CriticismThis is not the first time Senator Graham has linked Russia’s military aggression with oil buyers outside the West. For months, he has argued that Moscow’s ability to sustain its war is tied almost entirely to its energy revenues.
“Without oil and gas revenue, Russia collapses,” Graham told NBC in an earlier interview. “The whole goal is to crush its customers – India, China, Brazil – because they are the ones keeping Putin’s war machine alive.”
The Senator’s stark remarks highlight Washington’s growing frustration with countries that continue to buy discounted Russian crude, despite Western sanctions designed to cripple the Kremlin’s finances. and energy security.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Thursday’s missile strike was one of the largest in recent months, calling it “Moscow’s brutal answer” to ongoing diplomatic efforts to bring the war to an end.
We need tougher sanctions now. Every barrel of Russian oil sold is another missile built.”
Kyiv officials described a harrowing morning in which residential blocks, schools, and a hospital were hit. Rescue teams worked for hours, pulling survivors from rubble and rushing the wounded to overwhelmed medical centers. Families were seen gathering at emergency shelters, many carrying photographs of missing loved ones in desperate hope they were still alive.
For many Ukrainians, the attack was a painful reminder that the war shows little sign of easing—even after more than three years of bloodshed.
The White House ReactsAt the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump, who recently hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska for a summit aimed at advancing peace talks, was “not happy about this news, but he was also not surprised.”
“The president wants it to end, but the leaders of these two countries need to want it to end as well.”
Leavitt added that while the Kremlin claims its missiles hit military-industrial facilities and air bases, the scale of civilian destruction in Kyiv told a different story.
A Tense Balance Between Peace and PressureThe timing of Russia’s strike, coming less than two weeks after Putin’s summit with Trump, underscores the fragile state of current diplomacy. While the Kremlin insists it remains open to peace talks, its military actions continue to undermine any sense of trust or progress.
Meanwhile, the United States is seeking to maintain a delicate balance: encouraging negotiations, while at the same time ramping up pressure on Russia’s trading partners.
For ordinary Ukrainians, however, the politics matter less than survival. In Kyiv, volunteers handed out food and blankets, comforting children in underground shelters. Families who lost homes tried to salvage belongings from crumbling buildings. “We are tired, but we cannot give up,” said a woman who had just been pulled from the wreckage of her apartment block.
And for Washington, the message from Senator Graham was clear: so long as Russia can sell its oil abroad, its war machine will continue to roar.