Fact Check: Trump on funding for Ukraine
Former President Donald Trump claimed that the United States has given more in aid to Ukraine than European countries put together.
“The European nations together have spent $100 billion, or maybe more than that, less than us,” Trump said.
Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. From just before Russia’s invasion in early 2022 through April 2024, European countries contributed more aid to Ukraine than the US, according to data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany.
The Kiel Institute, which closely tracks aid to Ukraine, found that from late January 2022 (the month before Russia’s invasion) through April 2024, the European Union and individual European countries had committed a total of about $190 billion to Ukraine in military, financial and humanitarian assistance, compared with about $106 billion committed by the US.
Europe also exceeded the US in aid that had been “allocated” to Ukraine — defined by the institute as aid either delivered or specified for delivery — at about $109 billion for Europe compared with about $79 billion for the US.
Additionally, Europe had committed more total military aid to Ukraine, at about $76 billion to about $69 billion for the US. The US narrowly led on military aid that had been allocated, at more than $50 billion for the US to less than $48 billion for Europe, but even that was nowhere near the lopsided margin Trump suggested.
It’s important to note that it’s possible to come up with different totals using different methodologies. And the Kiel Institute found that Ukraine itself was getting only about half of the money in a 2024 US bill that had widely been described as a $61 billion aid bill for Ukraine. The institute said the rest of the funds were mostly going to the Defense Department.
