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Fact check: Trump's lies about Zelensky and Ukraine
Donald Trump spreads numerous false statements in his statements about Ukraine and President Zelensky. Our fact check highlights the reality behind his claims about war and aid.
Fact check: Trump's lies about Zelensky and Ukraine
Recently, President Donald Trump has repeatedly made false claims about Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelensky. In his comments to reporters and on social media, he repeated misleading information that also echoes the views of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Who started the war?
In his recent remarks, Trump denied Ukraine's complaints about its exclusion from U.S.-Russian talks to end the war, falsely claiming: "You never should have started it. You could have made a deal." However, this statement is incorrect because the war began when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Trump's former vice president Mike Pence and several Republican lawmakers have pointed out this obvious fact.
Zelensky's approval rating
Trump called for new elections in Ukraine during his remarks on Tuesday and said Zelensky's approval rating was "at 4 percent." However, this number does not correspond to the facts. According to a recent survey by a leading Ukrainian pollster, 57% of Ukrainians currently trust Zelensky, an increase of 52% since December.
US war support for Ukraine
In a social media post, Trump claimed Zelensky had made the US spend "$350 billion" going to an "unaffordable war." However, this number is far from reality. The Kiel Institute for the World Economy documents that the USA invested around 124 billion dollars in military, financial and humanitarian aid in Ukraine between the end of January 2022 and the end of December 2024.
US aid compared to European support
Trump repeated his false claims about an alleged massive difference between aid provided to Ukraine by the US and Europe. He said Europe gave $100 billion and the US gave over $300 billion. In reality, by the end of December 2024, Europe had provided significantly more aid than the USA, totaling around $258 billion.
Zelenskyj and the “missing” aid money
On Wednesday, Trump falsely claimed that Zelensky had admitted that half of the money sent to Ukraine was "missing." This statement is misleading; Zelensky had simply objected to exaggerated claims that Ukraine had received up to $200 billion in aid. In reality, Ukraine received about $76 billion, mostly in the form of weapons. Zelensky emphasized that many of these higher numbers only exist “on paper” and do not apply in reality.
In conclusion, Donald Trump's repeated false claims about Ukraine and its president are not only misleading, but also deliberately distort the actual context of the situation. It is important to stay informed and rely on reliable sources.