Charlie Kirk backed Russian invasion of Ukraine, annexation of Crimea; called Zelenskyy a CIA puppet, gets a makeshift memorial in Moscow

A makeshift memorial featuring portraits, flowers, and candles for American conservative activist Charlie Kirk and Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska appeared outside the US Embassy in Moscow on September 17, 2025.

Kirk, a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump and founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated while speaking at a university in Utah earlier this month. Zarutska, who fled Ukraine due to the ongoing Russian invasion, was tragically stabbed to death on a North Carolina train in August 2025.

The memorial, appearing in the heart of Moscow, carried a translated quote attributed to Kirk: “Crimea was always a part of Russia. It should never have been handed over,” which he reportedly said in his podcast The Charlie Kirk Show earlier this year. Kirk, in many instances, reflected his support for Russia’s actions in Ukraine amid heated geopolitical conflict.

Kirk’s alignment with Kremlin narratives was a defining factor in his political stance. He publicly backed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, opposed US aid to Kyiv, and framed Crimea’s annexation as legitimate and irreversible. He went so far as to label Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “CIA puppet who led his own people to an unnecessary massacre,” accusing him of deceiving Western nations for financial gain and escalating violence.

His views stood in stark contrast to the broad international consensus as well as his conservative allies such as the President himself condemning Russia’s aggression as a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

On the international stage, Kirk’s death was quickly politicized, with Russian officials such as former President Dmitry Medvedev blaming US support for Ukraine for fostering domestic political violence. Kremlin propaganda channels leveraged the assassination to underline divisions within the United States and to depict Kyiv’s Western allies as responsible for instability. This narrative dovetailed with Kirk’s own positions, making his legacy a focal point in the propaganda war surrounding the conflict in Ukraine.

Nearby the memorial, a pro-Kremlin nationalist group called the National Liberation Movement staged an anti-American demonstration, with protesters waving flags and Soviet World War II symbols. The rally was claimed to mark the so-called “Day of the Repressed Peoples of the United States,” tying US historical grievances to contemporary political narratives. It was unclear if the memorial and the demonstration were coordinated, but both events reflected the Kremlin’s effort to cast Kirk’s assassination as a political symbol and critique American policies.

The use of Zarutska’s image in the memorial was met with harsh criticism, seen by many as a cynical display amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s invasion.

Kirk’s vocal support for the Russian invasion, opposition to Western aid for Ukraine, and disparagement of Zelenskyy as a Western puppet made him a divisive figure in American politics and a rare Western voice openly endorsing Kremlin perspectives.