Senior Russian officials encourage Americans to blame leftists and Ukraine supporters for conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s murder

In the aftermath of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s murder, two of Russia’s most prominent public officials have weighed in on social media. On Wednesday afternoon, Kirill Dmitriev and Dmitry Medvedev posted messages of support for Kirk and echoed right-wing talking points that blamed leftists and “Ukraine supporters” for political violence in the United States.

Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and President Putin’s special representative for investment and economic cooperation, has played a key role as a Kremlin negotiator in Moscow’s dealings with the Trump administration regarding Ukraine. On X, Dmitriev reposted Malaysian right-wing political commentator and influencer Ian Miles Cheong’s video montage showing alleged leftists “in full celebration mode over Charlie Kirk getting shot.” Dmitriev also called Kirk a “voice of light” and later retweeted a message from billionaire Elon Musk stating: “The Left is the party of murder.”

Also on X, Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev linked Kirk’s murder to what he called “a variety of left-wing liberal scum who support Banderite Kiev.” He urged right-wing Americans “to realize that by supporting Ukraine, they’re supporting murderers.” Kirk, who held staunchly pro-MAGA views regarding the war in Ukraine, called Volodymyr Zelensky “a puppet of the CIA who marched his own people into a needless slaughter.” He made this statement in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s widely criticized Oval Office confrontation with the Ukrainian president in February 2025. As recently as July 10, however, Kirk was also critical of Vladimir Putin, arguing that Russia’s president “avoids drawing any troops from Moscow or St. Petersburg to keep the ruling elite passively supportive.”