It has become quieter around them, but they have by no means fallen silent: despite the war crimes in Ukraine, parts of the American right are still clinging to their positive image of Russia.
Ex-President Donald Trump did not repeat his praise of Vladimir Putin as “smart”, but continues to blame the government of successor Joe Biden for the situation.
With him in the White House, the war "would never have happened," Trump recently confirmed on his own social network "Truth Social".
Many of his supporters are even clearer in their statements and do not move away from Russia.
One of Putin's most prominent longtime advocates has been Tucker Carlson, host of right-wing Fox News.
From the very beginning he blamed Western countries for Russia's war of aggression.
The opinion that NATO's eastward expansion is a political mistake has supporters in all political camps.
However, Carlson and others suggest that the United States deliberately encouraged Ukraine to seek NATO membership in order to escalate the situation.
In early March, Carlson said on his show it was "obvious" that this perceived encouragement provoked the war.
President Joe Biden's administration knew that the Russians would attack Ukraine - that was intentional.
Carlson recently claimed
the Democrats are dragging the Americans into a war against Russia to force a change of government there - in revenge for the 2016 election because they believe they have lost to Trump through Russian influence.
Alexander Vindman, a former member of the National Security Council and key witness in Trump's first impeachment trial, then accused the moderator of collaborating with Russia.
Russian media, in turn, has frequently referred to Carlson and Fox News recently to substantiate claims that there is widespread sympathy for Putin's regime in America.
former member of the National Security Council and key witness in Trump's first impeachment trial, then accused the moderator of collaborating with Russia.
Russian media, in turn, has frequently referred to Carlson and Fox News recently to substantiate claims that there is widespread sympathy for Putin's regime in America.
former member of the National Security Council and key witness in Trump's first impeachment trial, then accused the moderator of collaborating with Russia.
Russian media, in turn, has frequently referred to Carlson and Fox News recently to substantiate claims that there is widespread sympathy for Putin's regime in America.
Repeated conspiracy stories
Other prominent right-wingers also support conspiracy narratives.
Eric Greitens, Republican Senate candidate in Missouri, spoke of "bloodthirsty elites in Washington" who fueled the conflict with Putin and used it for their own purposes.
Right-wing North Carolina MP Madison Cawthorn in March called Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "bandit," claiming his government was "incredibly corrupt" and followed "woken ideologies."
Georgia MP Marjorie Taylor Greene called for Biden's impeachment the day after the Russian attack because he threatened Americans with a "war on nuclear power Russia" and because he was compromised by his son Hunter Biden's business connections in Ukraine.
The Brookings research institute has been investigating a lie and its spread in right-wing podcasts in recent weeks.
It concerns the allegation that the United States has maintained biological warfare agent laboratories in Ukraine.
Russia's media spread the story, as did thirteen popular American podcasters, who according to Brookings aired thirty segments in a ten-day period.
Among them were Charlie Kirk, founder of the influential Republican front organization Turning Point USA, and Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon.
The fantasies about American-Ukrainian bioweapons, which the Russians wanted to destroy by invading, often include the corona virus.
Daniel Horowitz, who runs the Conservative Review podcast, said the same groups,
who also created Covid are responsible for the biolabs – from “Big Tech” to the government.
Carlson also claimed on Fox News that the Biden administration admitted the bioweapons labs existed.
What the government, in the guise of Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, actually “admitted” was American funding of Ukrainian laboratories that conducted scientific research on various pathogens, such as viruses.