Pence position on Ukraine shows divisions in GOP presidential candidates, hopefuls

Vice President Mike Pence said at a fundraising dinner in New Hampshire on Thursday that he believes the U.S should be supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression and that he disagrees with the positions of former President Donald Trump and potential presidential candidate Ron DeSantis on the issue.

"There is much debate about this even within our party and that’s healthy,’’ Pence started off.

He then said, "Republicans need to speak clearly that we understand that American is the arsenal of democracy… we must continue to provide the courageous Ukrainian military the support they need to drive Russia off their sovereign soil."

DeSantis said earlier this week that "while the U.S. has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party — becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them."

It's an issue on which he and Trump agree. Both have said that the U.S. should not involve itself further in the conflict and that giving Ukraine a blank check without accountability is a mistake.

Sounds like a good primary debate topic, although neither Pence nor DeSantis is an official presidential candidate yet.