Laura Loomer meets Zelenskyy in Ukraine after her major reversal on the war

KYIV (AP) — Laura Loomer, an ardent ally of President Donald Trump with a reputation for incendiary social media commentary, sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday after a dramatic turnaround on the war that could have political reverberations back in Washington.

Loomer had spent years minimizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amplifying Russian propaganda to her nearly 2 million followers. This week she had a change of heart.

“Just experienced my first air raid in Ukraine. Sirens blaring. This is everyday for every Ukrainian,” Loomer wrote on X during her visit to the country. “I often said I don’t care. Looking back, that wasn’t very nice of me to say.”

“We need to have moral clarity,” she added Thursday.

It was a stunning reversal for a woman who had spent years criticizing U.S. support for Ukraine’s defense, declaring it “a country full of Nazi apologists” — a claim used by Russia to justify its yearslong invasion — and “led by a Jihadi apologist.”

The skepticism of Ukraine has been shared by other major conservative influencers, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The issue became...