By Dasha Burns and Abigail Brooks - NBC News
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise visit to Ukraine Thursday, becoming the first Republican candidate for the Republican White House nomination to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the campaign trail.
The visit comes at a crucial moment in the war, just after the rebellion of the Wagner mercenary group and the deadly Russian missile attack on a pizzeria in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine.
Pence has been outspoken in support of Ukraine, and his visit sends a strong message that he believes the United States should play a leading role in the country's fight against Russia. It also puts him in a unique position within the Republican Party, which in the past was dominated by a sector that advocated against growing Russian influence, but is now led by a man who has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, and whose base is largely uninterested in supporting Ukraine.
Mike Pence in Irpin, Ukraine, on June 29, 2023.David Gladstone/NBC News
"I believe America is the leader of the free world," Pence told NBC News. "But to come here just as a private citizen — to be able to really see firsthand the heroism of the Ukrainian soldiers holding the line in those forests, to see the heroism of the people here in Irpin that contained the Russian Army, Seeing the families whose homes were literally bombed in the midst of an unprovoked and unprovoked Russian invasion — only reinforces my resolve to do my part, to continue to call for strong American support for our Ukrainian friends and allies."
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Pence spent the day learning firsthand about the atrocities Ukrainians have suffered over the past 16 months and visiting Moshchun, Bucha and Irpin — three cities that Russian forces occupied and ravaged — as well as meeting with Zelenskyy.
One of Zelenskyy's top advisers, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Pence "understands with absolute clarity what Russia is."
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"He deeply understands Russia and deeply understands the nature of this conflict, that it's not about territories, it's not about any business, it's not about anything except the main thing, those values that America was created for," Podolyak said, referring to "freedom, competition and democracy."
"This is about helping a country that is willing to stand up for the fundamental and basic values on which America as a whole was built."
The future of U.S. support for Ukraine's effort in the conflict is in question, and the voters Pence is trying to attract in the Republican primary are unwilling to help the country.
In the latest NBC News national poll, 52% of Republican primary voters said they would be less likely to support a candidate who backs sending more funds and weapons to Ukraine, while only 28% said it would be more likely.
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"I'm here because it's important for the American people to understand the progress we've made and how support for the Ukrainian military has been in the national interest," Pence said when asked by NBC News about the poll results. "I truly believe that now, more than ever, we need leaders in our country who articulate the importance of American leadership in the world."
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"We will let the polls and politics take care of themselves, but for me it was important to be here to better understand what the people of Ukraine have endured, the senseless violence that was perpetrated against them in an invasion not provoked by the Russian army and the progress they have made in pushing back that army." Added. "It has strengthened my resolve and better equipped me to be able to go home and speak to the American people about the vital importance of American support in repelling Russian aggression."
Pence's stance also sets him apart from some of his Republican rivals. And in discussing his views on foreign policy Thursday, he looked back to former President Ronald Reagan as his guiding star.
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"Since the time of Ronald Reagan, the American people have always stood with those who fight to defend their own freedom," he said. "In fact, we call it the Reagan doctrine: the idea that if you were once willing to fight the communists in your country, we will give you the means to fight them there so that we never have to do it on our soil. It is part and parcel of what brought down the Soviet Union and made it possible for Ukraine to live in freedom. But I think most Republicans and most Americans continue to champion that cause of freedom," he said.
Florida Gov. and Republican rival Ron DeSantis initially stumbled in his response to the war, drawing criticism from within the party for calling it a "territorial dispute" and saying backing Ukraine is not a "vital" U.S. interest. He later changed course and called Putin a "war criminal."
Former President Donald Trump, who leads Republican polls, initially praised Putin when he invaded Ukraine, saying he was "very smart." Trump has also claimed that he would be able to end the war in just 24 hours.
"Anyone can express their vision of how things should develop in a historical sense," Podolyak said, "but we live in the real world."