Former Vice President Mike Pence said Friday is no room in the Republican party for “apologists” for President Vladimir Putin after Russian authorities reported the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Pence issued a strong rebuke of the Russian leader in a series of posts on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Putin is a war criminal and only understands strength. Russia’s unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine has killed or wounded hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men, women and children. Russia’s brutality must be met with American strength,” he added.
Pence further urged Congress to “set aside the politics of the moment” and to pass aid to Ukraine and Russia with the “military resources they need to defeat their enemies and ours.”
The Senate earlier this week passed a $95 billion package that included aid for Ukraine, Israel and other foreign policy priorities, but Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) quickly shot it down.
The fate of Ukraine aid is now uncertain, but Democrats have been working to come up with a Plan B.
The Russian Federal Prison Service said Navalny felt unwell after a walk and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived and its crew tried to rehabilitate him but was unsuccessful, it added.
His death has not been confirmed by the U.S. or Navalny’s lawyers, and his wife on Friday cautioned that Putin’s government “always lies.”
Navalny had been imprisoned since January 2021, when he returned to Russia after recovering from a poisoning that he blamed on Putin. Putin has denied trying to kill him with the nerve agent.
The news of the death of Navalny sent shockwaves throughout the international community.
Navalny’s team had warned repeatedly that he could be killed in prison, and his spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said on X she did not have confirmation of his death, but his lawyer was on his way to the prison.
Pence has been a sharp critic of Putin and has issued statements criticizing former President Trump for praising the Russian president.
“When Vladimir Putin rolled into Ukraine, the former president called him a genius,” Pence said during his CNN town hall in 2023 while campaigning for the Republican nomination for President.
“I know the difference between a genius and a war criminal, and I know who needs to win in the war in Ukraine, and it’s the people fighting for their freedom and fighting to restore their national sovereignty in Ukraine.”
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