RT reported that on February 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky affirmed that Ukraine had never received $200 billion in aid from the US. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump always mentioned the above amount to criticize the waste caused by the previous administration.
In an interview, Mr. Zelensky clarified that the information that Kiev received 200 billion USD from the US to strengthen its military power was completely false. However, he did not deny the support efforts and expressed gratitude to the international community.
“I don’t know where the money went,” the Ukrainian president said, suspecting it only existed on paper. Zelensky said the Trump administration had added billions of dollars in audits of humanitarian programs that Kiev had no knowledge of.
Mr. Zelensky affirmed that Ukraine actually received about 76 billion USD, of which only a small amount was cash and most was aid in the form of direct military support.
Since 2022, the US Congress has approved about $175 billion for Ukraine, but a significant portion of that money is believed to have flowed to US industries and other government activities related to the conflict.
According to Germany's Kiel Institute, as of October 2024, Ukraine had received a total of $223 billion in financial and military aid, including $92 billion from the US and $131 billion from EU countries and the UK.
However, President Trump was indignant that the US had spent more than the EU with $200 billion. He also stressed to the European Union and NATO countries the importance of reviewing their contributions compared to Washington.
In addition, immediately after returning to the White House, one of Mr. Trump's first actions was to suspend US foreign aid for 90 days, including aid to Ukraine to review whether it was consistent with the administration's goals, pledging to put "America first".
