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Ties between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump improved after their White House spat last year when they next met only weeks later, the Ukrainian president has said in an interview with right-wing influencer Laura Loomer.
"The tone has changed, absolutely," Zelensky said of his relationship with his U.S. counterpart, who shared the clip on his Truth Social, adding the message "very good!!! President DJT."
A vocal supporter of Trump, Loomer had previously condemned U.S. aid to Ukraine, which she once said was "full of Nazi apologists," echoing Kremlin rhetoric used to justify Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion.
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But Loomer said she had changed her views on a fact-finding tour of Ukraine this week, during which she posted videos and messages, including how she got caught up in an air raid warning.
Loomer posted a clip from her interview with Zelensky in which she referred to his spat with Trump in the White House in February 2025. In the heated exchange, Vice President JD Vance said Zelensky should give Trump's diplomacy a chance to end the war but the Ukrainian leader responded that such efforts had previously failed.
"What happened because it seems like the relationship has greatly improved?" Loomer asked. Zelensky then referred to the pair's next meeting at the Vatican on April 26 last year when they were attending the funeral of Pope Francis.
"I always said that is a historic moment because we changed the relations during 15, 20 minutes," said Zelensky.
Loomer Confronts Zelensky on 'Campaigning' With Democrats
During the 45 minute interview, Loomer also questioned Zelensky about a September 2024 trip to the United States, during which he appeared with then–Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro.
She argued that the visit gave the impression he was aligning with Democrats when he visited a munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and asked whether he regretted it.
Zelensky rejected that characterization, saying, "I didn't want to be involved in any campaign" and insisting the trip "was not about politics."
When Loomer suggested the visit contributed to negative perceptions of him among conservative Americans, Zelensky maintained that he remained politically neutral, adding, "I couldn't support any candidate."
The Ukrainian president added that he also met with Trump, then the Republican presidential nominee, in New York during the same U.S. trip.
Loomer Says She Was Misled by Russian Propaganda
Loomer also reflected on her own past views on Ukraine, telling Zelensky that she had once been "anti-Ukraine" and had consumed what she now considers Russian propaganda, including writing several articles for the Russian state-funded outlet RT.
She said she regretted that work and had come to believe she had been "bamboozled by Russian propaganda."
Loomer went on to say she personally believes Russia is paying some American influencers and asked Zelensky to share any evidence he may have.
"I think more Americans need to admit that they've been duped by Russian propaganda," she said.
Trump and Zelensky To Meet: Report
The comments from Zelensky come after diplomatic efforts between Washington and Kyiv picked up this week following a six-month freeze in peace efforts with Moscow.
On Wednesday, Trump's U.S. envoy to NATO, Matt Whitaker visited Kyiv to discuss deliveries of Patriot missiles and a U.S.-Ukraine Drone Deal. Zelensky and Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also had phone conversations later in the day.
Ukraine media reported that Zelensky will meet Trump in Washington next week during a U.S. visit for the funeral of late U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of both Ukraine and Trump. Graham died on July 11 after returning from a trip to Kyiv, after announcing he had reached an agreement with the White House on the Russia sanctions bill.
Loomer referred to next week's meeting in an X post in which she said "we need to whip those votes" to pass the bill.
...
What Did Laura Loomer Say About Ukraine?
Loomer's statements are a marked change from the sentiments she had previously expressed about the full-scale Russian invasion launched on February 24, 2022.
She said despite her change of heart, she would not delete her previous posts, which amplified Moscow's claims of Nazism in Ukraine used to justify its aggression.
On June 24, 2023, Loomer posted on X that she believed the U.S. government under the Biden administration was working with the CIA "to stage a coup in Russia to oust Putin so that Joe Biden can campaign on toppling Putin in 2024."
"Just seems like this is all coordinated so Biden can take credit for ending the Ukraine-Russia war and pretend to be a hero," the post added.
On September 3, 2023, she posted that "Ukrainian Nazis are recruiting Nazis from Florida to fight" as she cited the case of Kent McLellan. In a post on September 6, 2023, Loomer said that the Biden administration was "funding Nazi death squads in Ukraine with US taxpayer dollars."
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On September 25, 2025, Loomer called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a "jihadi apologist" when he met with the new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Shara, posting, "I don’t want any more of my tax dollars going to Ukraine…Ukraine is a country full of Nazi apologists."
Loomer started rejecting pro-Kremlin rhetoric around March 2026, according to journalist JP Lindsley, after she had cited research shared by Alexis Wilkins, the girlfriend of FBI Director Kash Patel, who accused Moscow of pushing an influence campaign.
Change Of Heart: What Did Loomer Say During Ukraine Visit
This change in opinion by Loomer was expressed in social media posts and videos that she shared. She visited the city of Bucha, where she said she saw evidence of Russian war crimes carried out near the start of the war, including mass graves of civilians.
On Monday, she posted on X that she went to a shelter during an air raid alert, writing, "this is everyday for every Ukrainian, I feel like such an a**hole for minimizing the struggle of Ukrainians for the last 5 years."
In another video, she shows the damage inflicted by Russian drones on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv last month. She said the attacks showed the hypocrisy of Putin claiming Russia was "a savior of Christianity."
"If you care about Christianity so much why would you drone the oldest monastery in Ukraine," she said in the clip.
Ukrainian officials welcomed Loomer's change in attitude. Sergiy Kyslytsya, first deputy head of the office of the president, posted images of the visit and wrote on X: "It takes courage to come to Ukraine and not be deterred by Russian propaganda or air raid sirens."
Tetyana Berezhna, Ukraine's deputy prime minister for humanitarian policy, posted, "The world must see the truth with its own eyes. Thank you, Laura, for visiting Ukraine."
Loomer posted on X that she would like to meet with Zelensky while in Ukraine, as well. "What would you like me to ask him?" she wrote to her followers.
Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian president's office, the Russian Foreign Ministry, and Laura Loomer for comment.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Frances Mao, James Debens and Sam Wilson.
Update, 07/24/26 06:20 a.m. ET: this article was updated with more information.
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