Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor criticized Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Sunday for his reported cavalier dismissal of Ukraine in a recent interview.

Do you think Americans care about Ukraine ? an angry Pompeo asked Mary Louise Kelly, host of NPRs All Things Considered, she recounted. Kelly said Pompeo was furious that she questioned him about Ukraine on the program Friday, and he took her aside after the interview to launch a profanity-laced tirade against her.

He has not contradicted her report of the confrontation. Pompeo has only insisted it was off the record, which NPR has denied.

Taylor called out Pompeo for his misguided attitude about Ukraine in an op-ed in The New York Times. The relationship between the United States and Ukraine is key to our national security. Americans should care about Ukraine, Taylor wrote. The country remains vital to America regardless of the outcome of the ongoing impeachment trial of President Donald Trump .

Ukraine is defending itself and the West against Russian attack along its border, he added. Until Russia recommits to a rules-based international order, Western nations are in jeopardy.

The battle has come at a heavy cost to Ukraine. Since the Russians invaded six years ago, 14,000 Ukrainians have died in this war, Taylor noted.