'This is exactly wrong - as usual': Rand Paul rips Lindsey Graham for claiming that Ukrainian NATO membership would help foster peace

 Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky publicly spurned Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) claim that adding Ukraine to NATO would help foster peace, noting that such a move could draw the U.S. into a war against Russia.

"I will be working with Republicans and Democrats in the Senate to pass a resolution urging the admission of Ukraine into NATO. The best way to prevent future wars and promote peace is to create security guarantees that make aggressor nations think twice before starting wars. Ukrainian NATO membership is vital to the future security of Europe and the world. I believe there is an overwhelming majority of Senators supporting this proposition," Graham tweeted. 

"Absolutely not. This is exactly wrong - as usual - and could very well lead us to war with Russia, something no one should want," Paul tweeted in response to Graham's post.

Other lawmakers also pounced on Graham's comments.

"Expansion of NATO, a Cold War relic, led to the rise of Putin, also a Cold War relic, culminating in the invasion of Ukraine. Expanding NATO further is not in the interests of US citizens," Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky tweeted. 

"This is madness. Everyone in Washington should be urging peace and stopping the war in Ukraine. Not bringing us to the brink of World War 3. The Ukraine war is destabilizing Europe and changing the world’s economies. America doesn’t support this," GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia tweeted. 

"I'm sure Lindsey Graham knows this, but this would mean American troops on the ground in Ukraine. The American people will not stand by and allow our troops to go die in someone else's war," Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) tweeted.

The embattled nation of Ukraine has been striving to defend itself against a Russian invasion for more than a year. The U.S. has provided billions of dollars worth of assistance for Ukraine.