McCaul:Honoring Senator Graham's Legacy, Fighting for the Same Mission

As I wrote in the Washington Examiner this week, “Let us move forward to realize Graham’s vision and achieve this noble pursuit of peace.” 

Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, I traveled to Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian troops near the front lines, receive an award from President Zelensky, observe drone operations, and hold robust discussions with several other government officials and military leaders.

As I was on the train from Kyiv to Warsaw, I received the devastating news that Senator Lindsey Graham had passed away.

His passing is a grave loss for our entire nation. Senator Graham was a visionary, a courageous patriot, and a personal mentor and friend. We shared the same worldview: that the U.S. is strongest at home when we're strongest abroad.

Senator Graham was also in Ukraine in his final days. While we were not traveling together, we shared the same mission: stopping Putin’s expanding campaign of aggression and securing lasting peace. That is why he spent last year working on a strong Russia sanctions bill, which I promised to introduce in the House. Just last week in Kyiv, Senator Graham announced that he had reached an agreement with both the White House and Senate Democrats on his bill, which gives President Trump powerful tools to cripple the Russian economy and force Putin to the negotiating table.

This coming week, I will introduce that bill — now titled the Lindsey O. Graham Russia Sanctions Act of 2026 — in his memory. Congress has a duty to pass this important measure to honor his legacy and continue his fight for freedom.

As I wrote in the Washington Examiner this week, “Let us move forward to realize Graham’s vision and achieve this noble pursuit of peace.” 

A Momentous Visit to Ukraine
After landing in Ukraine, I was first escorted to the Donbas region — a primary focal point of the war, where battle is still being waged. Since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian Federation has illegally seized territory throughout the region, but the Ukrainians are now successfully pushing Russian forces back. While there, I met with Ukrainian troops at a frontline operations center to learn about their success in the Donbas and assure them of U.S. support. They told me no American official had ventured this far east since the beginning of the war.

Next, I traveled to Kyiv, where I met with President Zelensky, who presented me with the Order of Merit for my commitment to Ukraine — especially my work to champion and pass the 2024 supplemental package, which provided a lifeline to Ukraine. If Congress hadn't passed that bill, I believe Russia would be occupying all of Ukraine today — and seeking to expand its aggression into neighboring countries.

In the meeting, we discussed the implications of the recent NATO summit, during which President Trump announced that the U.S. will allow Ukraine to produce its own Patriot systems — a critical defense against Russia's large-scale missile and drone attacks. As I saw when I was in Ukraine, these attacks are often targeted not at military assets, but at innocent civilians. I commend President Trump for this bold move.

I also met with the speaker of Ukraine's parliament, Stefanchuk Ruslan Oleksiiovych, and minister of foreign affairs, Andrii Sybiha, to discuss Ukraine's innovation and momentum on the battlefield, as well as congressional efforts to enact tough sanctions on Russia

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I surveyed Ukrainian-made drones — including offensive drones, transport drones, and counter drone systems — that showcase Ukraine's unparalleled innovation, which is turning the tide of the war. For example, a drone operation that Ukraine conducted in 2025 destroyed more than $14 billion worth of Russian equipment, including ten air defense systems — all without risking a single Ukrainian soldier's life. And it only cost Ukraine about $12 million.

The Ukrainians have effectively turned the battlefield into a laboratory for advanced weapons systems, and both of our nations could benefit from increased defense cooperation.

Russia relies heavily on Iranian-designed Shahed drones. The same drones the Ukrainians have learned how to fight are now being launched by Iran against U.S. interests in the Middle East. That's why I recently introduced legislation to bolster cooperation between the U.S. and Ukraine to ensure our nation is prepared to build, deploy, and counter the drone technology that will define the future of warfare

I also visited with both American and Ukrainian drone manufacturers — including SkyFall, which manufactures 7,000 drones per day — and spent time at a drone operations center, where I observed drones dropping supplies and planting mines.

On my final day in Ukraine, I received a briefing from Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Agency, and I visited a rehabilitation facility for children who had previously been kidnapped and sent to Russia, indoctrinated against their own country, abused and tortured in camps, or even sent to the front lines to fight on behalf of Russia. Reports indicate that 20,000 Ukrainian children have been abducted since the start of the war, with some estimates much higher. As I said at a hearing chaired by the late Senator Graham a few months ago, this is evil in its purest form.

At the facility, I met with five children and their guardians — as well as doctors and psychiatrists helping the children — to hear their stories and share my support for the children of Ukraine. I also viewed Russian textbooks that are being taught in the occupied territories, which contain propaganda preparing Ukrainian children for a broader war against NATO.

President Zelensky told me this week that he is ready for a ceasefire — ready to negotiate, as he has been for years. Putin, on the other hand, consistently defies President Trump and the international community by refusing to come to the table. Senator Graham and I both knew this war would only end when maximum pressure is placed on Putin and he is forced to seek a negotiated agreement. I look forward to introducing Senator Graham's bill in the House this week to place crippling economic pressure on Putin.

Now is the time for moral clarity and conviction. The free world must not waver as we seek to stop Putin's aggression in its tracks and reach lasting peace.