Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday to reiterate his support for continued U.S. defense aid to the country after voting against the assistance bill stalled in Congress.
Graham touched down in Kyiv on Monday morning for meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Cabinet. He also stopped by the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv to meet with American officials on the ground.
While there, Graham raised the idea of heeding former President Donald Trump’s suggestion to provide Ukraine the aid as a conditional loan. He also said no aid can pass without Congress addressing the migrant crisis at the U.S. southern border.
“During my meeting with President Zelensky, I informed him that given the crisis at the United States’s southern border and our overwhelming debt, President Trump’s idea of turning aid from the United States into a no-interest, waivable loan is the most likely path forward,” Graham said in a statement. “This is not only true for aid for Ukraine but for other countries across the board. I reiterated that the House’s Ukraine aid legislation must include some American border security provisions.”
“I am also urging the Biden administration to send longer-range artillery, accelerate F-16 training for the Ukrainians, and designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law,” he added. “Once Ukraine gets back on its feet, they will be an economic powerhouse because of their access to mass deposits of critical minerals, oil and gas.”
Zelensky posted a video to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday thanking the South Carolina senator for making the trip. The Ukrainian leader said he and Graham discussed getting further aid from the United States as Russia makes advances.
“I informed Senator Graham of the frontline situation and our army’s priority needs,” Zelensky wrote. “It is critical that our partners continue to provide military and technical assistance, such as air defense systems and missiles.”
Critics have questioned Graham’s commitment to supporting Ukraine in recent weeks, the result of his surprise vote against the defense supplemental security bill in February.
The decision was a major reversal for Graham, who had spent months working with a bipartisan coalition to get a package aiding Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and the U.S. southern border to the Senate floor. He was an adviser in the bipartisan border security talks for the GOP side before that deal fell apart, eventually becoming an opponent of the bill for lacking a border component.
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Despite making multiple process arguments against the supplemental package itself, Graham was viewed before last month’s vote as one of the Republican Party’s staunchest supporters of U.S. involvement in Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s military invasion. He visited Zelensky in Kyiv last May and slammed the Biden administration for not doing enough to help Ukraine win.
The legislation aiding Ukraine currently sits on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) desk with no chance of receiving a vote without House lawmakers forcing floor consideration through a discharge petition.
