Early on Thursday morning, I became the first sitting governor of a U.S. state to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in 2022. Many Americans – especially my fellow Republicans – may wonder what possessed me to do this when overseas engagement appears to be a political lightning rod.
My practical purpose was to sign Indiana’s new memorandum of understanding with Zhytomyr Oblast in Ukraine , focused on academic, cultural and economic ties. Indiana’s high profile in agriculture, higher education and manufacturing has much in common with Zhytomyr, and we expect years of beneficial collaboration. I also had the privilege of meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior officials.
My bigger purpose, however, is community-building – economic and otherwise – in the shared interests of Indiana, America and Ukraine. This should not be hard to understand, even in an election season.
Ukrainian ingenuity deserves American support
Yes, the United States and many of its allies have given Ukraine financial and material support. But the Ukrainian people turned a seemingly unwinnable war against a much larger invader into the prospect of victory. It took astonishing ingenuity.