Senator Lindsey Graham urged the people of Russia to "take out" President Vladimir Putin following accusations of Putin's forces shelling Europe's largest power plant before overtaking the facility amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Graham appeared on FOX News Thursday (March 3) night and made references to Brutus, who famously assassinated Julius Caesar during the reign of the Roman Empire, and Claus von Stauffenberg, a former German army officer who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler at Wolf's Lair in July 1944, while discussing Putin.
"The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out," Graham said, which was quoted and shared on his verified Twitter account during the appearance. "You would be doing your country - and the world - a great service."
Graham's comments were met with criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.
"I really wish our members of Congress would cool it and regulate their remarks as the administration works to avoid WWII," Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted. "As the world pays attention to how the US and its leaders are responding, Lindsey's remarks and remarks made by some House members aren't helpful."
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz quote-tweeted Graham's comments as "an exceptionally bad idea" and instead called to "use massive economic sanctions; BOYCOTT Russian oil & gas; and provide military aid so the Ukrainians can defend themselves. But we should not be calling for the assassination of heads of state."
Graham was among several congressional members who introduced a bipartisan resolution this week to formally condemn Putin, his government and the Russian military of "committing flagrant acts of aggression and other atrocities rising to the level of crimes against humanity and war crimes," along with Democratic Senators Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar and Dianne Feinstein, as well as Republican Marco Rubio.
"One reason history repeats itself is that we fail to learn from the mistakes of the past," Graham said in a statement regarding the resolution. "I can only imagine what would have changed if in the 1930s the world had spoken forcefully to condemn Hitler for his atrocities within Germany and surrounding areas. We have a chance to chart a new path with this resolution."
More than 1 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion of the neighboring country one week ago, the United Nations confirmed Thursday (March 3) via NBC News.
The UN's latest total is an increase of more than 40,000 people from the 660,000 reported by spokesperson Shabia Mantoo while addressing reporters at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Tuesday (March 1).
Ukrainian residents have most commonly fled to Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia, amid other European nations, during the ongoing invasion by neighboring Russia, while a sizable number have even moved into the Russian Federation amid the attacks, according to Mantoo.
On Monday (February 28), Russian and Ukrainian officials reportedly met amid the ongoing conflict between the two neighboring countries following Putin's decision to conduct military operations in and ensuing attack on Eastern Ukraine.
NBC News reports Ukraine said it planned to push for an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops when the two sides met at the Belarussian border.
The talks took place as Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, was under attack from Russian shelling and Kyiv, the country's largest and capital city, continued to show strong resistance to attacks from Russia.
Last Saturday (February 26), a senior U.S. Defense Department official told reporters that Ukraine's resistance is stiffer than expected and Russians are increasingly frustrated by their lack of progress, specifically in the the capital city of Kyiv and Kharkiv.
At least 25 civilians and 137 soldiers were reportedly killed, while hundreds more were injured in Ukraine on the first day of Russia's invasion.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed that the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine received reports of at least 25 civilians killed and more than 100 injured in connection to "shelling and air strikes" in a statement obtained by NBC News Friday (February 25) morning.
"This is more than the total number of civilian casualties recorded by the U.N. Human Rights Office on both sides of the contact line for the whole of 2021," the statement read, noting that 25 people were killed and 85 injured in 2021.
The UN human rights office confirmed 114 of the 127 civilian casualties took place in Government-controlled areas such as the Donetsk, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson and Luhansk regions.
"Because of the security situation, civilian casualties in Government-controlled territory are likely to be under-reported, and real figures, therefore, could be higher," the office said via NBC News.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at least 137 soldiers were killed and 316 were injured on Thursday, according to preliminary figures, CNN reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his country would conduct military operations in Eastern Ukraine during an NBC News translation of a speech addressing the Russian population prior to sunrise early Thursday morning in Moscow.
The announcement appeared to serve as the final action ahead of an attack by Putin and the Russian military, which the U.S. and European allies to the neighboring Ukraine have attempted to prevent from taking place through diplomatic discussions.
A Ukraine interior minister confirmed to NBC News via text message that "cruise and ballistic missile strikes" were already underway shortly after Putin's announcement.
NBC News correspondent Erin McLaughlin said explosions could be heard from her live shot in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city, at 6:00 a.m. local time.
More than 1,000 protesters were reportedly arrested during anti-war protests throughout Russia amid President Putin's announcement to conduct military operations and ensuing attack on Ukraine, BNO News reported.