V.P. JD Vance: “One of the reasons we decided to support him was not that we don’t know how to read polls. We certainly understood that there was a very high probability that Viktor would lose these elections.

“We did it because he is one of the few European leaders we have seen who was willing to stand up to the bureaucracy in Brussels, which has been very, very unfavorable to the United States. We did not go because we expected Viktor to easily win the election.

“We went because it was right to support a man who has long supported us. So it was not about Russia and, essentially, not about Europe.

“It was about the United States and the fact that he was a good partner – personally for me and for the president, but also for the US. I am sorry that he lost”