Lindsey Graham Says He Would Support a No-Fly Zone Over Ukraine if Russia Uses Chemical Weapons

Landon Mion | March 13, 2022 4:05 PM

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday that he would support the U.S. establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine if Russia uses chemical weapons against its European neighbor.

Appearing on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," Graham said Russian President Vladimir Putin would be committing war crimes if he uses chemical weapons in the war on Ukraine.

"If there's any chemical weapons used by Putin, that would be a war crime and I would be supportive of a no-fly zone as a response to that," Graham said.

The senator also slammed President Joe Biden over his decision last week to nix a plan to facilitate 28 MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland to Ukraine. The president argued that doing so could result in World War III.

"It's not gonna be World War III," Graham said. "This is all a bluff. Putin knows it. No one wins a nuclear exchange. So if he ordered a preemptive strike on the United States, some general would shoot him in the head."

Graham went on to say that Biden opted not to move forward in sending the jets to Ukraine because of threats from Putin.

"The Biden administration stopped that transfer," Graham said. "One minute they're saying, 'well they're not using the planes we have but if we give them more it would be WWIII.' What happened is Putin threatened Biden, and he folded like a cheap suit. Give them the planes."

"The speech in Poland by the vice president is not an adequate substitute of MiGs going into the Ukraine to help the Ukrainians defend themselves," he continued. "I’m all in. I don't want no boots on the ground, no-fly zone yet. But if there are chemical weapons used by Putin, that's a war crime, and then I support a no-fly zone."

This comes after the chief of NATO said Sunday that Russia may use chemical weapons in its war with Ukraine, adding that such a move would be considered a war crime.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department have all said that Russia's claims that the U.S. is financing biological weapons labs in Ukraine are false.