Laura Loomer faces fierce backlash after Kyiv air raid post: ‘In Gaza they just drop bombs’

Conservative influencer Laura Loomer is in hot water after posting about her experience during an overnight air raid in Kyiv on Friday. She said she woke up in panic as sirens blared across the Ukrainian capital. The post drew sympathy from some users but also triggered widespread backlash from critics.Conservative influencer Laura Loomer is in hot water after posting about her experience during an overnight air raid in Kyiv on Friday. (AP)Also read: ‘Liars’: Laura Loomer claims Mitch McConnell’s hospital photo is AI-generatedWhat did Laura Loomer say?Loomer wrote on X that air raid sirens awakened her after falling asleep in Ukraine.“Was just woken up an air raid in Ukraine. It made me feel a sense of panic being woken up siren alarms after falling asleep. My heart felt like it was racing and I needed to catch my breath because I was so startled from the loud noise waking me up,” she wrote.She further empathized with people living there in such conditions and wrote, “I don’t know how people in Ukraine have dealt with being woken up air raid alarms every single night for nearly 5 years.”She added that the experience was “quite scary” and said hearing such alarms every day “can’t be healthy for your nervous system.”Loomer faces backlash over past stance on Ukraine and warSeveral X users responded highlighting Loomer’s previous criticism of Ukraine and her past amplification of Russian narratives.One widely shared reply read, “Welcome to what you supported for multiple years of pushing Russian talking points. Enjoy your shelter in place for the night.”In a similar vein, another user wrote, “Imagine how bad and unhealthy it was when you used to rail against Ukraine all day. I’m glad you saw the light.”Another user accused her of inconsency, writing that she expressed sympathy over air raids in Ukraine while previously supporting military action that would kill civilians elsewhere.They wrote, “Interesting you feel this way about an air raid, yet are thrilled when 70,000 Iranian civilians are killed, and you keep begging the adminration to annihilate every one of them. You’re a sick woman!”A third user called Loomer out and related her situation with people in Gaza and wrote, “At least you got a warning. In Gaza they just drop bombs without warning.”The criticism followed as observers described a dramatic shift in Loomer’s rhetoric during her visit to Kyiv.Kyiv visit marks a change in toneLoomer recently traveled to Ukraine, where she interviewed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visited several sites damaged Russian attacks. During the trip, she acknowledged that her earlier remarks about the war had lacked empathy.In another post on X, Loomer wrote, “I often said I don’t care. Looking back, that wasn’t very nice of me to say. We need to have moral clarity.”Loomer also toured the Dormition Cathedral at Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, which has suffered damage during Russian attacks. In a video recorded there, she criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for portraying Russia as a defender of Chrianity while attacking religious sites.Loomer’s recent remarks stand in stark contrast to her prior doubts about US assance for Ukraine. According to The Guardian, she had previously called Ukraine a nation run “Jihadi apologs” and repeated assertions commonly used the Kremlin to defend its incursion.As a result, her most recent X posts have garnered attention for both the emotional description of an air raid and, per her critics, a wider change among some MAGA movement participants on the Russia-Ukraine war.