MOSCOW  — Russian lawmakers today mounted a fierce defense of U.S. President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, who resigned following reports that he misled White House officials about his contacts with Russia.

Michael Flynn resigned Monday night, conceding that he gave “incomplete information” about his calls with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S.

A U.S. official told The Associated Press that Flynn was in frequent contact with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on the day the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia after U.S. intelligence reported that Russia had interfered with the U.S. elections. The Kremlin has confirmed that Flynn has been in contact with Kislyak but denied that they talked about lifting sanctions.

Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, said in a post on Facebook that firing a national security adviser for his contacts with Russia is “not just paranoia but something even worse.”

Kosachev also expressed frustration with the Trump administration.