Lindsey Graham says U.S. must go after Putin's money

Days after Malaysia Airlines flight MH-17 was shot down in the sky above territory controlled by Russian separatists, killing all 298 people on board, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said he believes Vladimir Putin is winning the battle for Ukraine and won't stop until the U.S. imposes harsh economic sanctions on both Russia and Putin himself.

Minutes after President Barack Obama gave a speech saying Putin and Russia need to "pivot away" from their actions so far in the Ukraine and get serious about negotiating with Ukraine, Graham said he heard nothing in the president's speech that would change Russian behavior.

The U.S. should go after Putin's personal finances as well as Russia's, Graham said in Greenville on Monday as he met with local media.

"We should name him as a world bad actor, put him on the sanctions list, make sure that no American banks or international banks could accept his money," Graham said. "He has ripped his people off."

Europe is not capable of taking the lead on Russian sanctions because its nations are too politically disjointed and rely too heavily on Russian natural gas and oil, Graham said.

The onus falls on the U.S to take the lead by imposing sanctions on banking and placing a tariff on Russian energy sources, he said. Then, he said, Europe will follow.

Graham wants to begin exporting natural gas from wells in the U.S. to supply European markets and break Russia's energy monopoly.

In addition, the U.S. should arm Ukraine with weapons to defend itself, perform joint military exercises with NATO and rebuild the dismantled missile defense system in Poland, Graham said.

In a speech on the White House lawn Monday, Obama said the U.S. first needs to make sure a full and prompt investigation is conducted, but Russian-backed separatists have interfered.

"Our immediate focus is on recovering those who were lost, investigating exactly what happened, and putting forward the facts," Obama said. "We have to make sure that the truth is out and that accountability exists."

Graham said it's clear what happened and the U.S. needs to take action now.

"How do you expect change when there is no action that will bring about change?" Graham said. "Putin is not going to respond to criticism and being considered an outlier in the international community. He's very comfortable with the position he's taken. He believes he is winning, and he is."