In Odesa, Pompeo reiterated his 2018 Crimea Declaration, issued during Trump’s first term, in which the U.S. rejected Russia’s claims to Ukrainian territory captured by force.

In 2018, Pompeo — during Trump’s first term — issued the Crimea Declaration “reaffirming U.S. policy its refusal to recognize the Kremlin’s claims of sovereignty over territory seized by ...

Pompeo, who served as secretary of state during Trump’s first term, said if the U.S. recognized Crimea as Russian territory, it “would be a mistake of epic proportions,” speaking at the ...