Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has called on Washington to continue providing military assistance to Ukraine and increase sanctions pressure on Russia. He argued that supporting Kyiv directly serves the national security interests of the United States.
Pence made the remarks in an “opinion column for The Daily Wire, published following his third visit to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The former vice president said he arrived in Kyiv on an overnight train from Poland and attended the National Prayer Breakfast and events marking the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. According to Pence, instead of a society exhausted by war, he encountered Ukrainians who had become even more resilient and determined.
“By every measure that truly matters, Ukraine is winning this war,” Pence said.
He noted that Ukraine remains free and sovereign, its government continues to function, its military has taken the fight into Russian territory through drone warfare, and its people refuse to surrender.
Pence also rejected claims by some American politicians on both the Left and the Right that Ukraine’s position is hopeless or that the time has come to negotiate away its future. According to the former vice president, nothing he witnessed in Kyiv supported such conclusions.
He stressed that Ukrainians are not asking Western countries to fight the war on their behalf. Instead, they need weapons and other resources required to repel Russia’s invasion.
Pence recalled that Vladimir Putin had intended to capture Ukraine within days, overthrow its democratically elected government, and install a puppet regime. However, he argued that Russia has achieved none of those objectives and has paid an enormous price for limited territorial gains.
“Putin will either be stopped in Ukraine or further west. The choice is ours, not his,” Pence warned.
He argued that every dollar invested in Ukraine’s ability to resist Russian aggression reduces the likelihood that American troops will one day have to confront Russia under the United States’ NATO commitments. Pence added that defense contracts also help rebuild America’s industrial base and create jobs.
The former vice president urged Congress to immediately pass Lindsey Graham’s proposed legislation imposing additional sanctions on Russia and ensure the continued delivery of military resources Ukraine needs to protect its population and airspace.
“Supporting Ukraine is not an act of charity,” Pence concluded. In his view, with sustained assistance from democratic nations, Ukraine can achieve a lasting victory.
