President Donald Trump went after Volodymyr Zelensky on social media on Wednesday after the Ukrainian president said Trump was "living in Russian disinformation space."
By Tom Norton
Ukraine has been on the outside looking in on talks between U.S. and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, as the Trump Administration says it is making a move to end the war between the European neighbors.
Trump on Tuesday said, without citing a source, that Zelensky's approval rating was at 4 percent in Ukraine. Zelensky alleged Trump had succumbed to "disinformation" from Russia in the comments. In comments made following Zelensky's remarks, Trump took to social media to say that the Ukrainian president had "talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion," a claim that is not backed by evidence.
The Claim
Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to post: "Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn't be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and 'TRUMP,' will never be able to settle."
The Facts
There is no evidence that the U.S. has spent or committed $350 billion toward Ukraine.
The Special Inspector General for Operation Atlantic Resolve (OAR), which handles U.S. oversight of this spending, states Congress has appropriated or otherwise made available nearly $183 billion toward Ukraine and OAR, of which $130.1 billion has been obligated and $86.7 disbursed, between fiscal years 2022 and 2024.
This funding also includes security assistance for NATO allies in partner nations, so not all of it is allocated for use specifically in Ukraine.
Trump has floated the $350 billion figure before, mentioning it in a December 2024 interview on "Meet The Press." In September 2022, the World Bank said it could cost $350 billion to rebuild Ukraine, according to a Reuters report, although this is not a sum bill for the U.S. and is unrelated to Trump's claim. Experts say that the transfer of Russian assets could be used to pay for the rebuild once peace is reached.
Furthermore, analysis has shown that some of the spending on Ukraine ends up back in the U.S. According to a report by The Washington Post, funding to arm Ukraine has gone to the domestic replacement or creation of new weaponry for U.S. stockpiles that have been sent to Ukraine, using U.S. manufacturers.
Trump also inaccurately claimed in the same social media post that the U.S. has spent $200 billion more on Ukraine compared to Europe, misquoted Zelensky as saying half of the money appropriated by Congress was "missing," and said millions of people had died in the conflict between the two nations, a figure that is unsupported by current evidence.
The Ruling
False.
Tracking of Congressional spending on Ukraine shows it has appropriated nearly $183 billion since Russia's invasion. Analysis has shown that some of this funding ends up back in the United States, to restock weapons and defense supplies domestically that the U.S. has given to Kyiv. Some funding has not gone directly to Ukraine but to NATO defense partners.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team