Former Vice President Mike Pence warned Thursday that Russia will force a war with NATO — and, by extension, the United States — if Russian President Vladimir Putin is successful in defeating Ukraine.
Pence made the comments at the Brussels Forum in Belgium, an annual event sponsored by U.S. think tank the German Marshall Fund (GMF).
"I have no doubt in my mind the time would come that (Putin) would cross the border [into Europe], that our men and women in uniform would have to fight. It would not be very long before he crossed the border that our men would have to go fight under Article 5," Pence said, according to Politico.
Article 5 of the NATO treaty states an attack on one member is an attack on all.
To that end, Pence implored Congress to approve the foreign aid package to Ukraine.
"Isolationism is never the answer to tyrannical regimes with expansionist intent, and I believe the majority of members of Congress understand that," Pence said. "I believe they'll meet this moment."
"My old friends in Congress are thinking very deeply about is, we're not just another country on the list being asked to help. We're in a very real sense the indispensable leader of the free world," Pence said in his meeting with GMF President Heather Conley.
Pence's remarks came a day after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., unveiled a package of foreign aid bills that would include $61 billion for Ukraine, of which $13.8 billion would be funds provided to Ukraine for the purchase of U.S. weapons.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.