US President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that Washington provided Ukraine with $350 billion worth of aid.
However, he added that he was unsure of the exact amount, which could be “less than that.”
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“I believe [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelensky said last week that he doesn’t know where half of the money is that we gave them. Well, we gave them – I believe $350 billion – but let’s say it’s something less than that. But it’s a lot,” Trump told reporters during his signing of Executive Orders at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
He then criticized Europe for allegedly contributing a “much smaller percentage” – $100 billion – and requested that Europe step up its efforts as they “have an ocean in between.”
While Trump was not wrong in admitting that the actual figure was lower than the $350 billion he quoted, official data from Europe and Washington have shown that the two are close regarding the amount of aid given to Ukraine, contrary to what Trump claimed.
Official figures: US aid vs European aid
Official numbers from the US and Europe said they are on par with each other, but research from Kiel Insititute – one of the most authoritative platforms on Ukraine aid – says Europe has already outmatched the US in terms of aid to Ukraine.
An official US agency auditing aid to Ukraine said the total aid from Washington amounts to around $183 billion between 2022 and 2024.
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“Congress appropriated $174.2 billion through the five Ukraine supplemental appropriation acts enacted [fiscal year] FY 2022 through FY 2024, of which $163.6 billion was allocated for [Operation Atlantic Resolve] OAR and the Ukraine response. Additional funds of $18.2 billion were allocated from annual agency appropriations and $1.1 billion was allocated from other supplemental appropriation acts,” the agency said.
Meanwhile, the EU said in January that it has “made available close to $145 billion in financial, military, humanitarian, and refugee assistance” in a report, with other forms of aid to come.
“Furthermore, in October 2024, the EU and G7 partners agreed to collectively provide loans of $50 billion to support Ukraine’s budgetary, military and reconstruction needs, financed by extraordinary revenues from immobilized Russian sovereign assets. The EU will contribute $20 billion, the first $3.2 billion of which was disbursed in January 2025,” the report says.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also hinted at an upcoming €700 billion ($732 billion) package for Ukraine, an amount that would surpass all foreign aid to date combined, but details remain scarce at present.
Kyiv Post cannot establish where Trump obtained the $350 billion figure.
Independent research
Kiel Insitute, a think tank keeping track of Western support for Ukraine, said Europe’s combined aid to Ukraine has already surpassed the US.
“Over the last three years, Europe and the United States have allocated €132 billion [$138 billion] and €114 billion [$119 billion], respectively, totaling €246 billion [$257 billion] in aid to Ukraine. Of this amount, roughly half – over €120 billion [$125 billion] – has been military assistance,” the Kiel Insititute stated in its Feb. 14 report.
Of the allocated military aid, it said the US has contributed slightly more than Europe, at €64 billion ($67 billion) – roughly €2 billion ($2 billion) more than Europe’s €62 billion ($65 billion).
As for the discrepancy between the official US figure and those quoted by the Kiel Insititute, it is likely due to the inclusion of spending related to the US’s presence in Europe under the OAR that never reached Ukraine itself.
US Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF), a US Army command responsible for its European and African operations, says the OAR “provides rotational deployments of combat-credible forces to Europe to show our commitment to NATO while building readiness, increasing interoperability and enhancing the bonds between ally and partner militaries.”
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