Ukraine lost one of its most vocal supporters in Washington this weekend following the death of US Sen. Lindsey Graham, which came just hours after he returned from a trip to Kyiv.
Among the many tributes from the country Sunday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that “throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion, Senator Graham stood with Ukraine and in defense of democratic values.”
The Republican from South Carolina visited Ukraine 10 times – including his most recent trip last week – after the invasion in 2022 and co-sponsored tough sanctions legislation against Russia. But he was also acutely aware of US President Donald Trump’s early hostility to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
Graham’s support for Ukraine stemmed from long experience on national security issues and a firm belief in an expansive global role for the US.
Like John McCain, another Republican senator with whom he often traveled, Graham was a firm supporter of the transatlantic alliance. He served in the US military in Germany for four years before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
