Former Vice President Mike Pence traveled Thursday to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and show his rock-ribbed support for the Eastern European nation in its war with Russia.
Mr. Pence is the first of the 2024 GOP presidential contenders to make the trip to Ukraine to make it clear the U.S. and the rest of the free world have a lot riding on stopping Russia.
“Beyond the human loss and the heartbreak that we have seen from this unprovoked Russian invasion, my message to the American people is simply that it is vitally important that America continue to lead on the world stage — that we stand up to the kind of naked aggression we have seen here,” Mr. Pence said in an interview with NBC News in Kyiv.
“I truly do believe that by giving the Ukrainian military the resources that we have over the last year and a half to push back on this Russian invasion that the West has really shown its strength — that the American people have shown our commitment to freedom,” he said. “The war here in Ukraine is not our war, but freedom is our fight.”
The Ukraine-Russia war is a dividing line in the 2024 GOP presidential race.
President Biden and Congress have approved $75 billion in taxpayer-funded assistance to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute.
The spending includes humanitarian, financial and military support.
Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are skeptical of America’s continued support for Ukraine.
Mr. Trump, in a CNN town hall in May, refused to say whether he wants Ukraine or Russia to prevail in the war. “I want everybody to stop dying. They’re dying. Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying,” he said. “And I’ll have that done in 24 hours.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott have rallied behind Ukraine.
Mr. Pence received a briefing from Ukraine officials on the war’s progress and on Russia’s human rights violations, according to his adviser.
The former vice president also participated in events commemorating some of the war dead.
Mr. Pence said a Ukrainian victory over Russia would force the rest of the world to rethink acts of “unprovoked aggressive” and send “a very clear message to countries like China as they contemplate their own military ambitions across the Asian Pacific.
“The reality is … Russia has attempted to redraw international lines by force. The antidote to that is American strength and American leadership on the world stage”
Ms. Haley drove home a similar point this week at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, saying the nation’s policy should be “to help Ukraine reclaim its territory — and bring this war to a quick and decisive end.”
She added, “A Russian defeat would be an enormous loss for China — and a true victory for peace. Now is the time to seize the moment and help Ukraine bring this war to a decisive end.
“Make no mistake: China is watching the war in Ukraine with great interest.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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