The influential politician has just returned from Kyiv, where he met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has died at the age of 71 following a brief and sudden illness. His office has released a statement saying he died on Saturday evening, adding that Graham's family "asks 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 and a key ally of Trump. 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. In a social media post marking the senator's death, US President Donald Trump said Graham was a "true American Patriot". 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." Over the years, Graham clashed with President Trump. After the US Capitol riots in 2021, Graham gave a speech on the Senate floor, in which he said: "Trump and I, we've had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way." But he later became one of his staunchest backers and supported Trump in the 2024 election.