US Vice President JD Vance has stepped in to defend US defence secretary Pete Hegseth after social media was grilling him over the colour of his tie during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.The row began when photos from the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting at the White House showed Hegseth wearing a tie in white, blue, and red — colours that some claimed resembled the Russian tricolour flag. The photos went viral, with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, sharing Hegseth’s photo on social media alongside a Russian flag emoji, adding fuel to the fire.Vance responded to the continuous trolling on social media, slamming critics who were reading too much into the tie’s design. “Or maybe he was wearing the colors of America,” he said on X, reposting commentary from American YouTuber and former US Army officer Jake Broe, who was among the first ones to share the viral image and claiming that “these people love Putin and Russia.” Despite Vance’s defence, most netizens remained unconvinced. Commenters argued that if the tie truly represented the American flag, it should have included stars or a different pattern. Some users even dug up an online listing for what appeared to be the same tie, described in the product details as a “Russian plain flag tie,” adding to the speculation.The photo was captured during Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington on Thursday, when he met US President Donald Trump for talks that included a public briefing and a private lunch. Trump later said he intended to work with Ukraine to persuade Putin to end the war, but confirmed that Kyiv would not receive Tomahawk missiles.Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba said Russia had launched drone and missile attacks on energy and transport infrastructure ahead of winter, targeting power stations, substations, and railway lines.
