Former Vice President Mike Pence met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday in a surprise trip to Kyiv, marking the first time that a Republican presidential candidate has made such a visit since the Russian invasion.
“I believe America’s the leader of the free world,” Pence told NBC News, which was first to report the trip. “But coming here just as a private citizen — being able to really see firsthand the heroism of the Ukrainian soldiers holding the line in those woods, see the heroism of the people here in Irpin that held back the Russian army, to see families whose homes were literally shelled in the midst of an unconscionable and unprovoked Russian invasion — just steels my resolve to do my part, to continue to call for strong American support for our Ukrainian friends and allies.”
The trip comes as Ukraine is in the midst of a crucial counteroffensive against Russian forces that have had ample time to solidify their defenses, while Moscow continues to manage the fallout of the Wagner Group’s rebellion.