Former United States Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise visit to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky, setting himself apart from the GOP and breaking traditions with the Republican Party.
The Thursday visit was meant to reinforce Pence's support for Kyiv amid its ongoing war with Russia. In a statement, the Republican lawmaker, who is one of the candidates for the GOP presidential nomination, said that there is a need to ensure that the US government provides the Ukrainian military with what it needs to push back Moscow's military troops.
Mike Pence Makes Surprise Visit to Ukraine
Pence said that they would make it clear to Russia, China, and other countries that seek to redraw international lines by force, that the free world will not tolerate such actions. He argued that the free world would band together to fight for freedom.
The former vice president's sudden visit to Ukraine comes as he seeks to set himself apart from former United States President Donald Trump and other 2024 GOP presidential candidates. He aims to emphasize his support for continued US military aid to Kyiv, as per the Washington Post.
In Pence's announcement speech held earlier this month in Iowa, he criticized Trump for calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a "genius." He also referenced Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' description of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia as a simple "territorial dispute," a statement that the governor later took back.
The former vice president said that he knows the difference between a genius and a war criminal and between a territorial dispute and a war of aggression. So far, Pence is the only GOP presidential candidate to visit Kyiv, and his surprise trip to the region took place a few days after Putin held back a rebellion conducted by the Wagner mercenary group.
Pence's stance on the matter comes as a recent Pew poll showed that 44% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe that the US is providing too much aid to Ukraine. A national poll in June from Quinnipiac University, on the other hand, showed that 52% of Republicans viewed continued support for Ukraine as being in the US's national interest.
Show of Support for Kyiv Against Russia
Amid his trip to Kyiv, Pence will also visit sites of atrocities in the early stages of the war between Ukraine and Russia. These include Irpin, Bucha, and Moschum, and he will later meet with Zelensky inside the presidential palace in the country's capital, according to ABC News.
During Zelensky's nightly address, he thanked Pence for expressing his support and noted that American aid was crucial for Kyiv. The former US vice president added that supporting Ukraine advances the interests of freedom and America's national interest.
On the other hand, Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, refused to answer whether or not he wanted Ukraine to win against Russia in the war. Furthermore, the Republican businessman declined to call Putin a war criminal, arguing that doing so would only make it more difficult to end the war between the two countries, said the New York Times.
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