US Senator Lindsey Graham Dead at 71 — European Leaders Pay Tribute

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European leaders are mourning the death of Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, who died suddenly on Saturday at the age of 71.

Graham, who strongly advocated for sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine, had just returned from a state visit to Kyiv .

Graham was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 and to the U.S. Senate in 2002. He was a prominent conservative figure in American politics and a staunch ally of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Senator Graham fought until the very end to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom and raise the cost of Russia’s war of aggression,” wrote European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen in a post on the social media platform X .

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Graham was “a true friend and a partner of Germany.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensyy said he was “deeply saddened by the news” of Graham’s death and that “America and the world have lost a determined leader,” also on X . Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office wrote that “Ukraine had lost a true friend.”

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote that he was “very shocked and saddened” by the news.

Several top Israeli political figures including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Energy ministers Eli Cohen reacted to the news on X.