The Trump administration has come under fire after its recent decision to withdraw military and intelligence support for Ukraine, with Vice President JD Vance’s own cousin branding him and President Donald Trump as “Vladimir Putin’s useful idiots.”

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Nate Vance, a Texan who spent three years fighting on the front lines against Russia, voiced his disappointment in an interview with Le Figaro published on Sunday. He described his cousin as “good” and “intelligent” but criticised the administration’s sudden shift away from aiding Ukraine, calling it a betrayal.

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'Ambush of absolute dishonesty'

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“When [JD Vance] criticised aid to Ukraine, I thought it was because he needed to appeal to his electorate, that it was part of the political game. But what they did to Zelensky was an ambush of absolute dishonesty,” Nate Vance told Le Figaro.

Nate Vance said, "Donald Trump and my cousin clearly think they can placate Vladimir Putin. They are wrong. The Russians are not about to forget our support for Ukraine. We are Vladimir Putin’s useful idiots.”

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'Not going to accept you killing my comrades'

A former US Marine, Nate Vance served in Ukraine’s Da Vinci Wolves First Motorised Battalion from 2022 until January this year. He and JD Vance share grandparents and have spent family holidays together. However, he said his attempts to contact his cousin about the situation have gone unanswered.

“Being your family doesn’t mean I’m going to accept you killing my comrades,” he said.

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JD Vance is believed to be at the centre of a heated Oval Office exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month. During the meeting, both he and Trump berated Zelensky, allegedly for not showing enough gratitude for US military assistance. In the days following the confrontation, Trump suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

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Meanwhile, the Trump administration has taken steps to strengthen its ties with Russia. On Friday, Trump said that the US was “doing very well with Russia” but admitted that dealing with Ukraine was proving more difficult.

(With inputs from agencies)