US Vice President Vance’s cousin Nate Vance volunteered to fight for Ukraine as part of "Wolves of Da Vinci" - Le Figaro
The cousin of US Vice President JD Vance, Nate Vance, has been fighting for Ukraine as part of the "Wolves of Da Vinci" battalion since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. In January 2025, the man returned to the United States.
This is reported by Le Figaro, Censor.NET informs.
Nate Vance shared that in 2022, when Russia launched a large-scale invasion, he realised that this war was different from all the others.
"I wanted to go and have a look. Out of curiosity. And for the sake of adventure. It's not easy to admit, but it's true. I wanted to help in one way or another, with logistics or medical support. I saw history being written before my eyes, and I wanted to be a part of it," the man said.
In March 2022, he arrived in Lviv. There he met a British volunteer who was looking for people with military experience.
"They took anyone who had ever held a gun," said Nate Vance.
The man had military experience, having served in the US Marines for four years. A few weeks later, when a group of Ukrainian volunteers invited him to join them at the front, he agreed, the newspaper writes.
The 47-year-old Texan has been in Ukraine for three years, two and a half of which he spent at the front. Nate Vance took part in the battles for Kupyansk, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Pokrovsk.
In early January 2025, the soldier returned to the United States, before the inauguration of his cousin JD Vance.
How he reacted to the conflict between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vance
The newspaper writes that when Nate Vance heard his cousin arguing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House, he became angry.
"JD is a good man, a smart man. When he criticised the aid to Ukraine, I thought it was just a political game, that he was trying to please a certain electorate. But what they did to Zelensky (Trump and Vance - ed.) was an ambush, steeped in absolute hypocrisy... Just because I'm your relative doesn't mean I'm going to stand by and watch you kill my comrades. I was disappointed. When JD justified his distrust of Zelensky with the "reports" he had seen, I thought I was going to choke. I could have told him the truth, without pretence, without vested interest. He never tried to find out more," Nate Vance told Le Figaro.
He said he tried to contact his brother several times and even left a message at Vice President Vance's office. However, Nate Vance did not receive a response.
