Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has died at the age of 71.

📻 Breaking It Down

His office released a statement saying he died on Saturday evening following “a brief and sudden illness”, adding that Graham’s family had asked for “privacy during this incredibly difficult period”.

Elected to the Senate in 2002, the South Carolina politician was one of Washington’s most influential voices on foreign policy.

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.

📌 What You Need to Know

In a social media post marking the senator’s death, US President Donald Trump said Graham was a “true American Patriot”.

Graham also served as Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.

He was a strong proponent of US support for Ukraine. In his most recent trip to the country, Graham was working on a version of the Russia sanctions bill, which he said would give “tools to President Trump to end this war”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was “deeply saddened” by the news of the senator’s death.

In a post on his official X account, Zelenskyy said Graham had visited the country 10 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion and was “with our people when it was most needed”.

“America and the world have lost a determined leader”, he added.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya