In anonymous Telegram channels that promote Russian rhetoric, the murders of American activist Charlie Kirk and Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska are being used as material for disinformation. Despite the different circumstances and nuances of the two cases, propagandists deliberately put an equals sign between them, synchronizing their rhetoric with similar statements from the White House. However, Russians do this in order to create a multilayered message about a U.S. crisis, the danger of liberal values, and the “toxicity” of Ukraine as an ally.

Anti-Ukrainian messages

In a significant share of the analyzed content on these two topics, Ukraine appears either as an accomplice or as an integral element of American chaos. On the one hand, Kirk’s murder is explained by the alleged involvement of “Banderites” and even the Zelenskyy regime itself. “The khokhols have started killing politicians in the United States. With American money. Charlie Kirk spoke out against supporting the Banderites… I have no doubt Ukrainians are involved,” propagandist Solovyov spreads this conspiracy theory. Here there is a direct inversion: an American conservative who criticized Kyiv is portrayed as a supposed victim of the Ukrainian authorities.

On the other hand, Zarutska’s tragedy is used to show that the United States is incapable of protecting even its “allies”. Propagandists place special emphasis on the fact that the killer allegedly had fourteen prior convictions and moved freely, which is meant to symbolize the failure of the American justice system. Kirk himself, before his death, wrote: “If we want something to change, we need to 100% politicize the senseless murder of Iryna Zarutska,” and this quote is actively used by propagandists to link the two stories into a single political tool. While Kirk’s murder is elevated to the level of key evidence of “liberal terror”, Zarutska’s death reinforces the emotional background and adds a racial dimension. Together, they create a multilayered image of a “rotten West”, where political murders, moral degradation, and the hypocrisy of allies prevail.

In addition to accusations against Kyiv, conspiracy theories involving Zionists also emerge. A channel with more than 50,000 subscribers claims that “ordinary Americans have a version that the murder may be connected to Zionists or Banderites”. This dual formula simultaneously points to two traditional enemies of Russian propaganda: the “Jewish backstage” and “Ukrainian nationalism”.

Such information injections create an atmosphere of uncertainty and fuel doubt: when a murder is explained through several “conspiracies” at once, audiences are led to believe that official versions are hiding the “real truth”. This conspiratorial vacuum is reinforced by confusion and uncertainty around the identity of the killer – several people were arrested after the crime, but their involvement was later denied. Nevertheless, the lack of evidence did not prevent propagandists from drawing premature conclusions, shifting blame onto Democrats based on their social media posts and political views. In some cases, an LGBTQ+ angle was also introduced, as the shooting reportedly occurred after an audience question about recent school shootings in the U.S. allegedly carried out by transgender individuals.

Russia as a “provider of sympathy” and an ally

Propagandists are trying to exploit Kirk’s tragedy as a tool to influence American conservatives. One author on a channel with more than 6,600 subscribers advises the Kremlin to “express condolences” and use this as an opportunity to establish contacts with Trump supporters. Dmitry Medvedev speaks even more bluntly: “The MAGA team should realize that by supporting Ukraine, they are supporting murderers”.

This message is built on the logic that if leftists and Ukrainians are portrayed as responsible for Kirk’s death, then Russia supposedly becomes a natural ally of American conservatives. Thus, Moscow seeks to present itself as a “protector from Western chaos” while simultaneously deepening divisions within U.S. society and pushing the right away from supporting Ukraine.

Racial dimension and internal Western conflicts

The story of Iryna Zarutska is also actively used to intensify racial tensions. Particular emphasis is placed on the fact that her killer was a Black repeat offender. Additionally, a channel with more than 10,000 subscribers spreads the claim that “leftists have started raising money for the killer’s lawyer”, suggesting that the liberal community allegedly justifies the crime solely because of the perpetrator’s skin color.

In this logic, the tragedy becomes a tool to discredit multiculturalism and tolerance: liberals are portrayed not merely as indifferent, but as active accomplices in moral decay, who allegedly place the “fight against racism” above justice and human life.

“The U.S. as a country of political terror and moral decline”

The core message of most analyzed posts is that the United States has supposedly definitively turned into a country where political violence reigns. Kirk’s murder becomes proof for propagandists that America has “lost its shared values”, while left-wing forces are portrayed as having turned political ideology into a source of radicalism. A channel with more than 440,000 subscribers states that “liberal terrorism prevails”, describing the attack on Kirk as confirmation that the “left-liberal political crowd is slowly but surely degenerating into an extremist ideology”.

These claims are reinforced by manipulative historical parallels: one post on a channel with more than 50,000 subscribers recalls the assassination of John F. Kennedy, who allegedly also fell victim to the political system. “What Trump is trying to do now is what President Kennedy once tried to do, which ended in his assassination,” an anonymous propagandist claims, referring to last year’s assassination attempt on the U.S. president. Such analogies are meant to emphasize that political violence in the United States is not accidental, but systemic.

Equally important is the demonstrative blaming of the left for all acts of violence. Propagandists recall other incidents of violence against right-wing activists and now add Kirk’s death to cement the image of the U.S. Democratic Party as a “party of murder”, citing Elon Musk in the process – whose statements have already been widely amplified by propagandist channels.

Russian and pro-Russian channels are actively constructing a narrative in which the United States appears as a country of terror, and Ukraine as a dangerous and toxic ally. The murder of Charlie Kirk becomes the central symbol of this picture, while the death of Iryna Zarutska reinforces it by adding themes of chaos, indifference, and racial conflict. Ultimately, both tragedies are used to promote one strategic message: the West is doomed, its allies are destructive, and Russia is emerging as an alternative center of the world.