Prominent American conservative influencer Laura Loomer reversed her long-held opposition to U. S.
support for Ukraine while traveling in Kyiv on July 26, 2026. She admitted she had been misled by Russian propaganda during her tour of the war-torn nation.
Loomer, a close ally of President Donald Trump with a massive online following, arrived in Ukraine on July 21.
Her trip included visits to front-line regions, damaged infrastructure, and a sit-down interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
During her interview with President Zelenskyy for her Rumble show, Loomer directly addressed her past rhetoric regarding the conflict.
"I've come to realize I was bamboozled by Russian propaganda and I came to believe a lot of untrue things about Ukraine.
I used to think that this was a country full of Nazis," she said.
Loomer explained that after being banned from major American social media platforms, she turned to Telegram, where Russian state media is heavily circulated.
She noted that her political anger following the 2020 election made her vulnerable to manipulation. "The Russians are very good at capitalizing on people's rage.
And I was very angry," she said.
The shift came as Loomer noticed popular conservative podcasters turning against Trump while their narratives were amplified by Russian channels.
Following her discussion with Zelenskyy, Loomer spoke with Trump by phone and expects to meet him at the Oval Office ahead of his scheduled meeting with Zelenskyy in Washington.
"You don't need to listen to a podcaster and let them influence your opinion about a country. You can look at those facts yourself," Loomer said.
Addressing the broader impact on Trump's MAGA movement, Loomer asserted that her firsthand observations are already influencing conservative audiences back home.
"Oh, 100%.
I've received messages all day from different people and media and politics and people just who follow me online who said, 'Wow, I didn't realize how much we've been lied to.'
'Wow you really opened my eyes,'" she said.
Infrastructure and Cultural Visits
As part of her trip, Loomer inspected a DTEK Group power substation in the Kyiv region.
The facility had been destroyed by a Russian missile strike in 2022 but was subsequently restored and modernized with assistance from the U.
S. government, now supplying power and heat to 20,000 households.
Ukrainian officials welcomed Loomer's visit as an opportunity to bridge gaps with key American conservative figures.
Natalia Yemchenko, Director for Public Relations and Communications at SCM, highlighted the significance of the restored infrastructure on social media.
"Laura Loomer, a U. S.
conservative influencer, visited a DTEK Group substation in the Kyiv region that was destroyed by a Russian missile strike in 2022.
Thanks to support from the U. S.
government, the facility was not only restored but also modernized," she wrote.
Yemchenko emphasized that Ukrainian energy workers are deploying cutting-edge technologies despite ongoing military threats, including the construction of a digital distribution substation built with equipment from U.
S. manufacturer GE Vernova.
"We showed that we are not only rebuilding Ukraine's energy infrastructure but also creating new, state-of-the-art solutions.
One such project is the first digital distribution substation that DTEK is constructing during the war using equipment supplied by GE Vernova, one of the largest U.
S. manufacturers of power equipment," she wrote.
In addition to visiting energy facilities, Loomer toured the Dormition Cathedral of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and met with top officials, including Ukrainian Minister of Culture Tetyana Berezhna.
"Laura is very powerful and she's very authoritative in the U. S.
, so I hope that everything she has seen by her own eyes will help her to spread the truth when she is back at the U.
S. ," Berezhna said.
Berezhna added that the ministry remains optimistic about how the high-profile visit will affect bilateral discussions in Washington.
"I do really hope and I believe that her visit will have a huge impact on relations with the U.
S. administration," she said.
Following her assessment of Ukraine's defensive needs, Loomer is now publicly advocating for Washington to send additional Patriot air defense missiles to help protect Ukrainian infrastructure from continuing Russian air attacks.
Assessments of Loomer's shift coincide with congressional debates over new anti-Russian sanctions.
During an underground shelter interview forced by an active ballistic missile threat over Kyiv, Loomer expressed optimism regarding upcoming talks between U.
S. and Ukrainian leadership.
"It's looking good for Ukraine, right? Going into this meeting next week at the Oval Office is looking pretty good," she said.
