Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has died at the age of 71, according to his official account on X.

Graham passed away on Saturday evening “from a brief and sudden illness,” a statement, published by the senator’s office on Sunday, read.

“Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” it added.

Emergency services responded to a call for “cardiac arrest” at Graham’s Capitol Hill residence on Saturday night, NBC reported after obtaining the police scanner audio. The broadcaster also said that it has seen photos of paramedics carrying a person on a stretcher from the senator’s home to an ambulance.

Graham’s death comes a day after his return from Kiev, where he met with Vladimir Zelensky on Friday. The lawmaker, who was a strong advocate of US military assistance to Ukraine and a harsh critic of Russia, has visited the Ukrainian capital at least ten times in recent years.

US President Donald Trump reacted to the death of his ally, saying that Graham “will be greatly missed.”

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump described the senator as “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known... He was always working, and was a true American Patriot.”

Graham, who was first elected to the Senate in 2002, has made name for himself over the years as one of the most prominent warhawks in Washington.

He famoulsy called for the asasination of Russian President Vladimir Putin after the esclatation of the Ukraine coflict in February 2022.

During an appearance on Fox News, the senator cited historic examples of plots to kill famous political leaders, including Julius Caesar and Adolf Hitler. “Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this … ends, my friend, is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out,” Graham said, referring to Putin.

During his trip to Kiev the following year, the senator described the US military aid being sent to Ukraine as “the best money we’ve ever spent” because “the Russians are dying.”

Graham has repeatedly called for more economic pressure on Moscow, threatening it with what he called “bone-crushing” sanctions. In recent months, he has been actively promoting a bill that would impose 500% tariffs on all countries that purchase oil of Russian origin.

Speaking about Graham last year, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the lawmaker was part of “the group of the most inveterate Russophobes” in the West. The senator had been on Russia’s list of extremists and terrorists since 2023.