Former U.S. vice president Mike Pence on Thursday became the first Republican presidential candidate to meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky during a surprise visit to Ukraine. 

According to NBC News, Pence, who is running for the 2024 White House, spent the day visiting places that were severely damaged by the Russian occupation, including Bucha, Irpin and Moshschun. Zelensky’s advisor Mikhailo Podolyak said that the former vice president “understands absolutely clearly what Russia is.”

His visit comes amid the early stages of Ukraine’s counteroffensive that is reportedly not advancing as fast as Kyiv’s Western allies expected. 

“I’m here because it is important that the American people understand the progress we’ve made and how support for the Ukrainian military has been in our national interest,” Pence told NBC News. 

The politician pointed out that he wanted to see “what the people of Ukraine have endured” and the “progress that they’ve made in pushing back” the Russian army. 

"It’s steeled my resolve and it’s made me better equipped to be able to go home as I speak to the American people about the vital importance of American support to repel Russian aggression," Pence said in Kyiv. 

Unlike his main rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said that backing Ukraine wasn’t a “vital” interest for the U.S., and former president Donald Trump, who praised Russia’s Vladimir Putin for invading the neighboring country, Pence has been outspoken about his support for Kyiv.