Mike Pence meets refugees on Ukraine’s border

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Former Vice President Mike Pence travelled to the border of Ukraine this week to meet refugees fleeing the country as a group he founded seeks to hit vulnerable congressional Democrats on the dual issue of American energy independence and reliance on Russian oil.

Mr Pence tweeted photos of him and former second lady Karen Pence meeting with families fleeing violence. Pictures of the crowds depicted mostly women and young children.

In captions accompanying the photos on Twitter, Mr Pence did not directly blame President Joe Biden for the Russian invasion, as some of his fellow Republicans have in recent days, and instead urged his followers to donate to the international Christian relief aid organisation Samaritan’s Purse.

The former vice president wrote that he and Ms Pence traveled to Ukraine to “meet with Ukrainian women and children seeking refuge from war,” adding that 2.4 “million refugees have already fled Ukraine and nearly 400,000 have already come through the Korczowa border crossing” where the Pences were visiting.

“The impact of the Russian invasion on these families is heartbreaking and the need for support is great. We encourage everyone to pray and contribute to @SamaritansPurse and other relief organizations today. Let’s stand together as one with the people of Ukraine,” he added.

The tweets were not political in nature but come as Mr Pence is leading an attack on congressional Democrats facing tough re-election challenges with an ad campaign blaming Democrats and the Biden administration for increasing US dependence on Russian energy.

It references the Biden administration’s decision to block construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a choice which Mr Pence’s group argues is "endangering America's security and helping Russia fund their invasion”.

Mr Pence’s Advancing American Freedom organisation is spending $10 mn on the ad buy, according to Axios, and ads began running in more than a dozen congressional districts earlier this week.

The Independent reached out to a spokesperson for Mr Pence about the former vice president’s trip, but did not immediately receive a response. A White House official confirmed to Philip Wegmann, a reporter for RealClearPolitics, that the former vice president did not give the White House advance notice before traveling to the border.

The vice president’s message on Twitter could be seen as a subtle dig at his former boss, Donald Trump, and the far-right wing of the party which has in recent days expressed at least passing admiration if not full-on support for Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Trump in a recent interview referred to Mr Putin’s deployment of troops into separatist Russian regions as “genius”, sparking considerable criticism. Two members of the GOP House caucus also attended a right-wing conference last month where attendees broke out in a chant of “Putin!” and at least one speaker expressed direct praise for the Russian leader.