Mike Pence: US Should Accelerate Weapon Deliveries to Ukraine, but No Troops Deployment

Mike Pence: The US Should Never Send Troops to Ukraine

Former vice president and presidential candidate Mike Pence stated that the United States should never send its troops to Ukraine, but the delivery of American weapons to Kyiv should be expedited.

In an interview with NBC News following his meetings with Ukrainian officials, Pence said, "We should never send American troops to Ukraine." He added that during his meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, he was informed that such a need did not exist. However, the former vice president emphasized the necessity of accelerating weapon deliveries to Kyiv.

"I believe that the Biden administration is acting slowly in providing military aid to the Ukrainians. And frankly, I heard that today during my meetings with representatives of the authorities," he said.

Pence cited the example of the promised tanks Abrams, which were supposed to arrive in January. "Today I was told that they might arrive by September," he pointed out, also mentioning that Washington is delaying the approval of transferring F-16 fighters to allies.

Earlier, Zelensky stated that he discussed further steps to support Ukraine and its prospects for NATO membership with Pence. As reported by NBC News, Pence visited Kyiv on a private visit and met with Zelensky on Thursday.

Russia previously sent a note to NATO countries regarding arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that any shipments containing weapons for Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that NATO countries were "playing with fire" by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Russian President's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov mentioned that arming Ukraine from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect. Lavrov claimed that the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, "not only through arms supplies but also through the training of personnel... on the territory of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and other countries."