Ukrainian President Meets with General Kellogg
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with General Keith Kellogg, who served under President Donald Trump, in Kiev on Thursday. During their conversation, Zelensky conveyed his sorrow regarding the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“I expressed my condolences to the American people over the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk and thanked President Trump for sharing his heartfelt reaction to the brutal killing of Irina Zarutska, a Ukrainian citizen residing in North Carolina,” Zelensky stated.
Irina Zarutska, only 23, was viciously murdered by a man named DeCarlos Brown Jr. on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 22. The incident was captured on security cameras, and, unfortunately, many bystanders did not intervene.
The media’s response to Zarutska’s death was criticized. Conservative commentators and various civil journalists brought the disturbing video to the forefront, urging the media to cover the story. President Trump joined the conversation recently, releasing a video from the White House that included images of both the perpetrator and the victim while condemning the lax policies that allowed Brown to remain on the streets despite previous arrests.
On Wednesday, President Trump called for Brown to face the death penalty.
“The monster who took a beautiful young Ukrainian woman’s life, who came to America looking for safety, should have a swift trial and receive the death penalty. There are no alternatives!” Trump expressed.
Zelensky’s approval of Trump’s reaction to Zarutska’s killing seems to contrast with some prominent media voices in Ukraine.
For example, the Kyiv Independent, which claims to be the “fastest growing English media outlet” in Ukraine, ran a story on September 9, suggesting that “US and European right-wing figures” are “weaponizing” Zarutska’s murder and promoting xenophobic agendas.
Watch – Calls for investigation following Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The Kyiv Independent criticized the framing of the narrative by right-wing figures, including Trump, suggesting that they were exploiting Zarutska’s death to advocate for stringent crime policies in cities such as Washington, D.C.
Charlie Kirk, a right-wing commentator who has been vocal about issues like the annexation of Crimea, was also mentioned. He criticized US leadership for enabling Putin to be seen as an adversary and argued that Zarutska’s murder received less media coverage because her killer was black.
In his final social media posts before his own assassination, Kirk expressed concern for Zarutska, stating, “If we want change, we must politicize her senseless murder, as politics allowed a dangerous individual with multiple previous offenses to kill her.”
