Republican presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during an announced trip to Ukraine with Franklin Graham’s Samaritan Purse on Thursday, according to an adviser.
Mike Pence is in Ukraine visiting Zelensky. pic.twitter.com/OGWWYE3hTj
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) June 29, 2023
NBC News first reported on his presence in the war-stricken country this morning:
“I believe America’s the leader of the free world,” Pence told NBC News. “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.”
An adviser to Pence said in an emailed statement that during his visit to Ukraine, Pence received a briefing on human rights violations transpiring in Ukraine at the Center for Protection of Children’s Rights in the capital city of Kyiv. Per the adviser, the briefing focused on alleged Russian adductions of Ukrainian children in an effort to break Ukrainian will:
WATCH: Mike Pence makes a surprise visit to Ukraine, tells @DashaBurns that American military support for Ukraine has "shown our commitment to freedom."
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 29, 2023
Pence: “By giving the Ukrainian military the resources that we have … the West has really shown its strength.” pic.twitter.com/jaSLklqUxH
WATCH: Mike Pence makes surprise visit to Ukraine, tells @DashaBurns that American support for Ukraine "is bigger than politics."
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 29, 2023
Mike Pence: If Russia wins, “the second half of the 21st century could look an awful lot more like the first half of the 20th century.” pic.twitter.com/pX4OiD2HJL
Ukrainian officials also briefed Pence on Russia’s March 2022 offensive and Ukraine’s defense of Moshchun Village, in addition to the evacuation that month. He also stopped at the destroyed Romaniv Bridge in Irpin. Pence will appear on NBC News interviews throughout the day, and more interviews will be aired on ABC’s This Week.
The move underscores a break between Pence’s stance toward the war and some of his advisories in the Republican primary field. Whereas former President Donald Trump has pledged to end the war and another Republican presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, has said he “would not give another dollar to Ukraine,” Pence has told Breitbart News that it is “in the national interest of the United States to give the Ukrainian military the resources necessary to push back and repel the Russian invasion.”
“I also think it’s the best way to send a message to China that we will not tolerate them using force to redraw international lines as well,” Pence told Breitbart News after his campaign launch in Ankeny, Iowa, in June, adding:
But, look, we should not send American armed forces into that fight. We have no obligation. They are not a NATO ally. But if Vladimir Putin overruns Ukraine, it wouldn’t take too long to get where we would have to put American servicemen and women in harm’s country. For my part, I think for peace and stability in the world, it is in our interest to provide Ukraine the resources they need.
He was also critical of President Joe Biden for being slow in providing aid to Ukraine, zoning in on unfulfilled commitments of Abrams tanks.
