In a heated meeting at the Oval Office in February, US Vice President JD Vance’s cousin publicly denounced him and President Donald Trump for their “belittling” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In an interview with the BBC, Nate Vance, who volunteered with the Ukrainian military for three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, expressed his disappointment.

He added that he was “not happy” with how the meeting was handled and stated, “There’s a certain level of decorum that I expect from political leaders, especially in front of cameras.”

According to The Guardian, his comments come after he previously accused Trump and JD Vance of being “useful idiots” for Russian President Vladimir Putin in their war strategy.

The live-streamed February meeting swiftly descended into controversy. Trump cautioned Zelensky against “gambling with World War Three” and threatened to remove US assistance unless an agreement was reached. JD Vance, meanwhile, said that Zelensky had not expressed gratitude for U.S. assistance and called him “disrespectful” for voicing his concerns in front of the media.

Nate Vance, however, denied that assertion. He noted, “Zelensky thanks everyone who supports Ukraine in his daily or nightly address.” Given that “my cousin and Donald Trump have been actively working against his initiatives for the past three years,” he acknowledged that Zelensky might not have shown “enough deference to Donald Trump,” but contended that it was unreasonable to expect such deference.

A scheduled news conference was abruptly canceled, and Zelensky was asked to leave the White House as the situation worsened. Following the incident, the Trump administration stopped providing Ukraine with military assistance, satellite imagery, and intelligence sharing.

A reporter’s criticism of Zelensky for not wearing a suit during the meeting sparked yet another controversy. As a show of support for his troops, the Ukrainian president has continuously dressed in military garb since the start of the conflict. Nate Vance brushed the criticism aside as trivial.

Everyone is aware of the symbolic meaning behind his attire. Who gives a damn? He remarked, “It’s a foolish hill to die on.” Additionally, he drew attention to the unfair treatment of Elon Musk by permitting him to regularly visit the Oval Office dressed casually, usually in a T-shirt and baseball cap.

Nate Vance called the Oval Office encounter “an ambush of absolute bad faith,” but he also called his cousin “a good guy, intelligent,” in a different interview with Le Figaro.

He acknowledged that his position was out of the ordinary considering his long-standing Republican affiliation. Since I’ve always been a Republican, this is a strange stance for me to adopt. However, I’m passionate about it, and I believe we’re approaching this problem incorrectly,” he stated.

He calculated that 20% of Americans would be “disheartened” by the exchange when asked how they felt about it. “The last time we took an isolationist approach, we ended up with World War One and World War Two,” he said, warning against the rise of isolationism.

Later, Zelensky called the contentious conversation “regrettable” and urged a fresh attempt to patch things up. In the meantime, the US continues to pursue diplomatic initiatives with Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to broker a settlement to the conflict.

Trump said last week that he was “doing very well with Russia,” but he acknowledged that things were getting “more difficult” with Ukraine.