\n<\/p>\n
US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has died following a brief and sudden illness.<\/b><\/p>\n
His office has released a statement saying he died on Saturday evening. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”<\/p>\n
Elected to the Senate in 2002, the South Carolina politician was one of Washington’s most influential voices on foreign policy and a key ally of Trump. <\/p>\n
He had just returned from Kyiv, where he met the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. There were no known health concerns ahead of his trip.<\/p>\n
In a social media post marking the senator’s death, US President Donald Trump said Graham was a “true American Patriot”.<\/p>\n
Graham also served as Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.<\/p>\n
He was a strong proponent of US support for Ukraine. “Putin will not stop in Ukraine,” he told the BBC in 2023. <\/p>\n
“To be weak in Ukraine means that you lose in Taiwan,” he said.<\/p>\n
In his most recent trip to Ukraine, Graham was working on a version of the Russia sanctions bill, which he said would give “tools to President Trump to end this war.”<\/p>\n
Over the years, Graham clashed with President Trump, but he became one of his staunchest backers. <\/p>\n