How Ukraine Fights: Reflections from the Front Lines feat. Nate Vance
About this episode
Maria Snegovaya interviews Nate Vance about his experiences as a U.S. Marine Corps veteran fighting in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Maria Snegovaya sits down with Nate Vance — a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces after the 2022 invasion — to discuss Ukrainian and Russian military tactics, life as an infantryman on the front lines, and the impact of Soviet legacies on military culture. Vance spent three years with the Da Vinci Wolves, seeing action from Bakhmut to Pokrovsk, before leaving in early 2025 when his first cousin JD Vance's rise to the vice presidency made him a potential Russian target. Mentioned: Russian Blood and Treasure: The Ballooning Costs of Putin’s War: CSIS Publication by Seth Jones and Riley McCabe Feedback? Suggestions? Ideas to help us improve? Email us at erep@csis.org. If you love Russian Roulette, let us know by subscribing and leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to our sister podcast, covering all things Europe through a Washington lens: CSIS Podcasts | The Eurofile
People in this episode
Host: Maria Snegovaya
Guest: Nate Vance
Topics covered
- Ukrainian military tactics
- Russian military tactics
- life on the front lines
- Soviet legacies
- infantry experience
Keywords
- Ukraine
- Russia
- military tactics
- infantry
- Soviet legacy
- Bakhmut
- Pokrovsk
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: U.S. Marine Corps, Ukrainian Armed Forces, CSIS
Books & works: Russian Blood and Treasure: The Ballooning Costs of Putin’s War
Places: Bakhmut, Pokrovsk
More episodes of Russian Roulette
- Putin’s Propaganda Machine in Russian Classrooms (A Russian Language Exclusive)
- Russia's Classrooms Face Putin’s Propaganda Machine
- Has the War Come Home to Russia?
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