Nate Vance: ‘One Thing You Can’t Buy Is Courage’

Nate Vance, cousin of US Vice President JD Vance, could hardly differ more from his relative in his geopolitical views, although the physical resemblance is noticeable. His deep-set eyes give the family connection away. Standing over six feet tall with a strong build and modest demeanor, the 47-year-old Nate exudes the fighting stature of someone who’s served in the US Marines and fought in Ukraine for three years. The green of his eyes matches his vyshyvanka, a hand-embroidered Ukrainian shirt, which makes his dedication to Ukraine immediately apparent. Nate Vance, a cousin of US Vice President JD Vance. (Photo courtesy of Lord Ashcroft) JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Nate had served in military earlier in his life, but his involvement in Ukraine began with a journey to see events for himself. What started during a fortnight away from work became a commitment forged through friendships with the men he would fight alongside. A machine gunner during his service in the Middle East between 1997 and 2001, Nate felt his weapons skills could benefit Ukraine as it moved away from Soviet-era warfare. Seeing reports in early 2022 of women and children fleeing, he felt compelled to witness what he calls “monumental historical events.” Other Topics of Interest Kyiv Warns Heating Utility Raids Threaten Energy Projects The documents concern backup power and combined heat-and-power projects for Kyiv’s Desnianskyi, Holosiivskyi, and several other districts. “What horror would drive an American mother out of her home with a plastic bag full of clothes and her kids? No plan, no money, no possessions. Nothing,” he tells me. During two weeks off from his oilfield job in Texas, he packed his bags and flew to Poland. He arrived in Przemyśl, the city near the Ukrainian border, among thousands of refugees heading west while he tried to travel east. “If you didn’t know, you might have thought that these people were from Nebraska or Kansas, or some other place in America,” he recalls. “They were living through the worst moments of their lives, having left their loved ones back home with no knowledge of what’s to come. For many of them, it was the last time they saw their sons and husbands, and yet they were thinking of how to help others.” That impression convinced Nate that “those people are worth helping.” He began delivering humanitarian aid to soldiers in eastern Ukraine. Many had been civilians. Having befriended them, he could not refuse requests to share his Marine training. “When you meet these 18-year-olds, practically just kids – and they are super friendly and super eager, but you know just how bad it’s going to get, it’s hard to walk away.” Between 2022 and 2024, Nate and his unit, the Da Vinci Wolves, fought in Kupyansk, Bakhmut, Vuhledar and Avdiivka – some of the most contested areas of Ukrainian front. Asked what the battlefield was like, he draws parallels with history. “I grew up reading about the Second World War and watched a lot of movies, and just the volume of fire and artillery – that’s what it reminded me of. You get there and you think, ‘Oh, I’m really in it.’” Nate took on a fire support role, conscious of the language barrier and determined to help without adding to anyone’s burden. “One thing you can’t buy is courage,” he says of Ukrainians. “And they have that in spades. I continue to complain about training and the lack of consistency across military units in their readiness. You are never good enough, and you only elevate your performance on the battlefield when you focus on what you’re not good at.” I ask Nate if there were any close calls during his time on the frontline. “There was one instance in Klishchiivka where I thought, ‘This is it.’ It’s even hard to explain because it all happens so fast.” Their Starlink had failed, forcing them to contact another group to communicate with their command post. “I was coming back at night with my night-vision goggles on, and I remember only hearing that shriek from an incoming mortar shell with just enough time to take a knee. It blew up right in front of me, maybe 10 feet away. All I remember is a huge hole in the ground it left.” “But it happens all the time, right? So you just get right up and go back to your position,” he says casually. It was not his only narrow escape. “I don’t think I went into Ukraine prepared to die. I don’t think anyone does – there is always that sense of invincibility. But was I cognizant of the risk? Absolutely.” He remembers telling a friend back in the US: “A lot of these guys are going to die.” He was right. How has war changed him? “It made me more human,” he says. “Before this, you see a tragedy like this on the news and you don’t give it much thought, you’ve got things to do. But now those blurbs and those videos – I know people behind them, I know their kids, I’ve been to their houses, I’ve met their wives. I saw their wives distraught when they realized their husbands weren’t coming home.” For Nate, the war has become deeply personal. The people in the news are friends, and the losses are those of families he knows. Ukraine’s defense innovation fascinates him. Cousin of US Vice President JD Vance, Nate Vance (left), and Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC (right). (Photo courtesy of Lord Ashcroft) “Coming from America, you know that major defense firms spend life cycles working on one project. Ukraine has basically made that obsolete,” he says. “Ukrainians can enhance their weapons with a 15-minute turnaround. In the US, it would take about four years with the production, testing and certification cycle.” He believes American capabilities remain crucial, but are needed at scale. Ukraine, he argues, could build weapons with capabilities like Tomahawks as production expands. “What they need is guidance for those types of weapons.” “One way America could help is targeting and the use of satellite imagery.” Nate stands by his assessment that Donald Trump respects strength. “It’s true. But it’s also not just about showing strength, it’s about balance.” His verdict on US-led ceasefire efforts is unequivocal: “It’s a waste of time. Regardless of how Donald Trump feels about Putin or Zelensky, I think it’s pretty clear that the Russians don’t respect Witkoff.” Of the US negotiator, he adds: “Don’t get me wrong, he might be a nice guy, or a great real estate dealer, but that doesn’t mean you’re a great statesman or a diplomat, or that you understand the cultural differences between Russia and the US and Ukraine and the US.” He has since criticized the administration’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports. On his cousin’s stance, Nate offers a measured assessment. “I have spoken to him about it. He obviously legally cannot tell me their plans with Ukraine, I’m not read in. But I don’t think that the White House genuinely knows how to deal with Russia and Ukraine. Part of it is cultural differences, but it’s also important for people in the US government to stop talking so much and listen.” He would like JD Vance to visit and meet his former comrades. “Of course I would like him to come. I’m here – I can attest to the fact it’s safe. You’re here. We’re not being overrun by Russian troops right now.” In January 2025, weeks before his cousin’s inauguration, Nate left Ukraine for security reasons. He feared less for himself than for his comrades: a vice president’s relative would be a coveted target, endangering them and American national security. Yet here we are in central Kyiv in autumn 2026. Nate has joined the American non-profit The Weatherman Foundation, supporting wounded Americans fighting in Ukraine and families of those missing or killed. His commitment now extends beyond his service on the battlefield. “There is no guidebook for being a relative of the vice president in a war zone,” he jokes. “I’m convinced that being in Kyiv is okay though and doesn’t put anyone at any undue risk… I am currently here working for an American NGO and I will continue to do so, and help in any other ways besides kinetically.” Nate is writing a book about Ukraine, but publishing it terrifies him. “I was in our base down south with the guys, and on several occasions they would come up to me – having no connection with an outside world or not being able to speak proper English – they would still want their stories to be told. But I don’t want to screw it up. Once it’s in print, it’s forever. And that’s more terrifying than combat.” The war in Ukraine has raised questions about America’s place in the world. Its government’s treatment of allies and accommodation of adversaries has raised many questions about whether it remains the land of the free and the home of the brave. Nate Vance’s selfless service reminds us of what America represents through people like him – the duty of the strong to stand by the weak, the courage to speak freely and the determination to stand on the right side of history. Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. For more information on his work, visit lordashcroft.com. Follow him on X/Facebook @LordAshcroft.