JD Vance Claims Ukrainian Intel “Rigs” US Elections, Sparks Debate

JD Vance has yet again taken another gratuitous jibe at U.S. ally Ukraine, saying that Ukraine loves to poke its nose in others’ business. The Vice President is currently in Hungary to promote Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as he hopes to get re-elected. With elections fast approaching in both countries, it is an excellent opportunity for the U.S. to solidify its alliance with Hungary.

Taking the stage at a press conference along with Orbab, who is pro-Putin, Vance accused Ukraine of meddling with the elections in the U.S. He said, “We are certainly aware there are elements within the Ukrainian intelligence services that try to put their thumb on the scale on American elections, on Hungarian elections.” He added that it’s part of doing business with the country, “This is just what they do.”

He continued, “I try to remind myself that Ukraine, like the United States, is a very complicated place. There are good people, and there are bad people. There are people who try to interfere in others’ elections. And there are people who actually just say, you know what, we believe in sovereignty for everybody. And that’s what we support.”

“For example, there were people in the Ukrainian system who were campaigning with Democrats literally in the weeks before the presidential election, where Donald Trump won very comfortably in November of 2024.”

Vance’s comments sparked fierce debate online. Many people, including pro-Ukraine commentators, got flashbacks of Vance and Donald Trump dressing down the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the media. Some brought back headlines from 2024 when Vance admitted that he’s willing to “create stories” in order to gain media attention.

One X user shared the clip and said, “Likely a statement drafted in the Kremlin, JD Vance says almighty 'Ukrainian intelligence' is rigging elections in both the US and Hungary.”

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Journalist Nancy Levine Stearns criticized Vance’s statement and said, “JD Vance is spending US taxpayers’ dollars to tee up... about election rigging in advance of US midterms.”

Another user chimed in, saying, “J.D. Vance accuses Ukrainian Intelligence of rigging American and Hungarian elections. Right out of Putin's mouth and a completely ridiculous statement.”

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Another comment read, “Wow. I didn't know Ukrainians were so powerful. I mean, they are great, but... maybe JD Vance should focus on Orbán's connections with Putin and the fact that Hungary's Foreign Minister leaked EU secrets to Lavrov.”

A fourth user commented, “Simply replacing Russia with Ukraine in every sentence is quite effective when they know their voters don't really know the difference. MAGA will be echoing this for years to come. You won't find a bigger traitor to his country than JD Vance.”

Vance’s criticism of Ukraine and Zelenskyy became one of his key points during his visit to Hungary. Speaking at a Hungarian university, Vance said Orban ​had told him about Zelenskyy's “scandalous” remarks. He criticized Zelensky, who had threatened to leak Orban’s address to the Ukrainian military.

"It's completely scandalous... You should never have a foreign head of government... threatening the head of ‌government of an allied nation,” he said.