Russian state media is using Tucker Carlson, Mike Pompeo to bolster Putin's moves in Ukraine


Russian state media personalities are lauding Russian President Vladimir Putin and his order to send troops to two separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, and using commentary from Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to further support his actions.
On Monday, Putin signed a decree recognizing two breakaway regions, the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, as independent, and said he would send troops there on a "peacekeeping" mission. The regions are in an area known as the Donbas, and Moscow claims the troops will protect people being oppressed by the Ukrainian government. Russia has supported rebels in the Donbas since 2014, and it's estimated that about 14,000 people have been killed in the fighting.
The Associated Press reports that on Russian state television and radio, Putin's move on Monday was, unsurprisingly, immediately met with lavish praise by anchors and pundits. On Russia 1, political talk show host Olga Skabeyeva delivered a message on Tuesday to residents of the separatist regions, saying, "You paid with your blood for these eight years of torment and anticipation. Russia will now be defending Donbas."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Vladimir Solovyev, host of a morning show on the state-funded radio station Vesti.FM, declared that "we will ensure their safety. It is now dangerous to fight with them ... because one will now have to fight with the Russian army." On Channel One, a correspondent in Donetsk said local residents shared that they finally have "confidence in the future and that the years-long war will finally come to an end."
To further bolster Putin, Russian state media is sharing supportive commentary from his fans on the American right. Julia Davis, a columnist at The Daily Beast and a Russian media analyst, tweeted several clips on Tuesday and Wednesday of Carlson and Pompeo now making the rounds on Russia state media — RT published Carlson's latest defense of Putin with Russian subtitles, as well as an article titled, "Tucker Carlson wonders why U.S. elites hate Putin," while Channel One aired an interview with Pompeo where he praised Putin as "very shrewd" and "very capable," adding, "I have enormous respect for him."
There is some pushback coming from independent Russian news outlets, like the website Holod. Its reporters started the hashtag "I'm not staying silent," and asked people to "express their opinion about the war aloud — and also to remember that each of us has something connecting us to Ukraine." There were several dozen responses, AP reports, with Russians panning Putin's decision to send troops to eastern Ukraine.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Scottish hospitality shines at these 7 hotels
The Week Recommends Sleep well at these lovely inns across Scotland
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Scientists invent a solid carbon-negative building material
Under the radar Building CO2 into the buildings
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: April 1, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is the 'coalition of the willing' going to work?
Today's Big Question PM's proposal for UK/French-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine provokes 'hostility' in Moscow and 'derision' in Washington
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's spies: skulduggery in Great Yarmouth
In the Spotlight 'Amateurish' spy ring in Norfolk seaside town exposes the decline of Russian intelligence
By The Week UK Published
-
Can Ukraine make peace with Trump in Saudi Arabia?
Talking Point Zelenskyy and his team must somehow navigate the gap between US president's 'demands and threats'
By The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine: where do Trump's loyalties really lie?
Today's Big Question 'Extraordinary pivot' by US president – driven by personal, ideological and strategic factors – has 'upended decades of hawkish foreign policy toward Russia'
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
Is Europe's defence too reliant on the US?
Today's Big Question As the UK and EU plan to 're-arm', how easy will it be to disentangle from US equipment and support?
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
What will Trump-Putin Ukraine peace deal look like?
Today's Big Question US president 'blindsides' European and UK leaders, indicating Ukraine must concede seized territory and forget about Nato membership
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine's disappearing army
Under the Radar Every day unwilling conscripts and disillusioned veterans are fleeing the front
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's mercenaries fighting against Ukraine
The Explainer Young men lured by high salaries and Russian citizenship to enlist for a year are now trapped on front lines of war indefinitely
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published