US Senator Lindsey Graham dies after 'brief and sudden illness', his office says

US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has died following a brief and sudden illness.His office has released a statement saying he died on Saturday evening. "Senator Graham's family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period."Elected to the Senate in 2002, the South Carolina politician was one of Washington's most influential voices on foreign policy and a key ally of Trump. He had just returned from Kyiv, where he met the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. There were no known health concerns ahead of his trip.In a social media post marking the senator's death, US President Donald Trump said Graham was a "true American Patriot".Graham also served as Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.He was a strong proponent of US support for Ukraine. "Putin will not stop in Ukraine," he told the BBC in 2023. "To be weak in Ukraine means that you lose in Taiwan," he said.