Eugene Vindman

Eugene Simon Vindman (born June 6, 1975) is a Ukrainian-born American attorney, retired U.S. Army officer, and Democratic politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district since January 2025. Born in Kyiv to a Jewish family in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Vindman immigrated to the United States at age seven with his father and two brothers after his mother's death from cancer, settling in Brooklyn, New York, where he graduated from Franklin D. Roosevelt High School. Vindman pursued a 25-year military career in the U.S. Army, initially commissioned through ROTC into the Infantry Branch before transitioning to the Judge Advocate General's Corps, where he specialized in international criminal law and national security matters, publishing extensively on related topics. As the identical twin brother of Alexander Vindman, a key figure in the first impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, Eugene served in the National Security Council and was removed from his role alongside his brother by the Trump administration in 2019 amid scrutiny over Ukraine policy. Retiring from the Army in 2022, Vindman entered politics, securing the Democratic nomination and winning the 2024 election for Virginia's 7th district—a competitive seat previously held by Rep. Abigail Spanberger—by emphasizing veteran leadership, defense of democratic institutions, and foreign policy expertise shaped by his immigrant roots and service.

Eugene Vindman was born on June 6, 1975, in Kyiv, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, to a Jewish family amid widespread antisemitism and Cold War-era repression in the Soviet Union. His identical twin brother, Alexander, and older brother, Leonid, were also part of the household led by their father, Semyon.

Eugene Vindman was born on June 6, 1975, in Kyiv, then part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, to a Jewish family amid the Cold War era. His identical twin brother, Alexander, shares the same birthdate, and the family included an older brother whom the twins idolized.

The family's Jewish heritage and Soviet-era persecution experiences shaped their motivations for emigration, with Vindman later citing refuge from oppression as a core reason for their journey. This background of hardship and resettlement in Brooklyn fostered a strong emphasis on military service and public duty among the brothers, both of whom pursued careers in the U.S. Army.