Mysterious Memorial for Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska Erected Outside U.S. Embassy in Moscow Amid Anti-American Protests

On Wednesday, flowers, candles, and images of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk and Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska were placed outside the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, according to state media reports.

Kirk, a supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump and founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while addressing an audience at a university campus in Utah last week. Zarutska was fatally stabbed on a train in North Carolina in August, which prompted Trump to call for the execution of her assailant.

In Moscow, one of Kirk’s portraits was accompanied by a quote in Russian attributed to him: “Crimea has always been part of Russia. It should never have been given away. Russians who wish to be part of Russia reside in Crimea.” It was uncertain when or if Kirk actually made this statement, but he has previously voiced objections to American support for Ukraine.

Another image referred to him as “Christian, Conservative, Human.”

The Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti noted that it remained unclear who erected the makeshift memorial outside the embassy.

In the vicinity, a fringe nationalist group conducted an anti-American protest, with some demonstrators waving Confederate flags and black-and-orange St. George ribbons, which symbolize Soviet victory in World War II.

This rally was organized by the National Liberation Movement, a pro-Kremlin organization. The organizers stated it was their first demonstration since Trump assumed office in January, claiming it also commemorated what they termed “Day of the Repressed Peoples of the United States.”

Pro-Kremlin representatives assert that they coined this term to honor the nearly 23,000 soldiers who fell or were injured during the Battle of Antietam in the U.S. Civil War.

It was not immediately clear whether there was any connection between the memorial and the protest.