News that the Ukrainian military had forced Russian combatants to retreat from major strategic holds near Kharkiv on Saturday led to widespread celebration online. Some, including activists and politicians, also took the opportunity to lambast Fox News host Tucker Carlson over his past support of the Russian invasion effort.
A counteroffensive by Ukraine was reportedly able to push Russian fighters out of the Kharkiv region “with shocking speed,” according to The Washington Post. Many have viewed the major victory as a sign that the tide of the invasion could turn in Ukraine’s favor after months of fighting.
Illia Ponomarenko, a reporter with The Kyiv Independent, took to Twitter on Saturday to share a clip from one of Carlson’s broadcasts last month, in which he claimed that “by any actual reality-based measure, Vladimir Putin is not losing the war in Ukraine. He is winning the war in Ukraine.”
In light of the successful counteroffensive in Kharkiv, Ponomarenko used the clip to mock Carlson’s take, sarcastically referring to him as a “master war expert.”
Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican and a frequent critic of pro-Russia elements in the GOP, shared his own take on the situation on Twitter, lumping Carlson in with others like GOP Texas Senator Ted Cruz and former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.
“Today, the Ukrainian Army is continuing to liberate their territory at breakneck speed,” Kinzinger tweeted. “Next time really bad people like @TuckerCarlson @TulsiGabbard @tedcruz and [others] bet against the West, remember these days. FREEDOM always wins.”
“Hey @TuckerCarlson, Ukraine just broke through the Russian front line in key areas,” Democratic strategist Aaron Parnas tweeted. “Slava Ukraini!”
“Russia is getting its ass kicked which means Tucker Carlson is weeping as he makes a suit out of human skin,” Ukrainian-American Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko tweeted.
Russia is getting its ass kicked which means Tucker Carlson is weeping as he makes a suit out of human skin.
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) September 10, 2022
“Looks like a really good weekend for Ukraine,” Joe Walsh, a former GOP congressman and frequent critic of extremism in the party, added. “Looks like Ukraine has a real good shot to win this war. Betcha @TuckerCarlson & @TulsiGabbard are pissed off.”
Carlson’s rhetoric surrounding the invasion has been criticized since it began earlier this year. In May, the Fox News host accused Democrats of opposing Russia’s efforts because of their belief that the country helped former President Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election.
“Democrats have convinced themselves that Russia stole the presidency that rightfully belonged to Hillary Clinton, they mean it when they say it,” Carlson said at the time. “That is why they are taking us to war with Russia…On some level the core motivation is just that simple. We know the war in Ukraine is not about saving democracy, please. We know it is not about protecting the sacred borders of a sovereign country.”
Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla
In response, numerous pundits and analysts accused Carlson of aiding the Russian propaganda effort surrounding the war. Footage from that early May broadcast was included on Russia’s 60 Minutes multiple times.
“Tucker Carlson’s latest performance is an especially big hit in Moscow,” The Daily Beast reporter Julia Davis said in a tweet. “State TV propagandists loved it so much, Russia’s 60 Minutes included it not once, but twice in their evening broadcast, neatly bookended by the Kremlin’s war propaganda.”
Newsweek reached out to Fox News for comment.