Fact Check: Did US spend $350B on Ukraine’s military aid as Trump claimed?
WASHINGTON, DC: Ever since Donald Trump took office for his second run as the President of the United States, the MAGA spearhead has made certain remarks that have been controversial and raised eyebrows.
In early 2025, the POTUS repeatedly claimed that the United States had spent $350 billion in military aid to Ukraine for its war with Russia. But is there any truth to his statement? Let us find out below.
Claim: US spent $350 billion on military aid to Ukraine
President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed that the US spent $350 billion in military aid to Ukraine for its war with Russia. In February 2025, he wrote in a Truth Social post that Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky, "talked the United States into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn't be won."
He wrote, "Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, 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 US and 'TRUMP,' will never be able to settle."
The post continued, "The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back. Why didn’t Sleepy Joe Biden demand Equalization, in that this War is far more important to Europe than it is to us — We have a big, beautiful Ocean as separation."
Trump added in his post, "On top of this, Zelensky admits that half of the money we sent him is 'MISSING'. He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden 'like a fiddle'. A Dictator without Elections, Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left."
Moreover, the POTUS repeated the claim in a meeting with Zelensky on February 28 and in a March 4 speech to Congress.
Trump told Zelensky, "We gave you $350 billion for military equipment."
False: US did not spend $350 billion on military aid to Ukraine
The claims made by President Donald Trump are not true, according to Snopes. It is possible to come to different totals using various ways to categorize the financial figures but none amount to $350 billion, per the fact-checking outlet.
Snopes reported that the US had allocated nearly $183 billion for the response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, per the US government's inspector general overseeing the situation.
Moreover, the amount includes more than just what the US government directly sent to Ukraine, and $83 billion had been paid out as of December 2024, the fact-checking outlet reported.
United States military aid to Ukraine
The US has allocated $45.8 billion (with $7 billion paid out) out of the $183 billion to replenish the Defense Department's equipment "drawn down to deliver weapons and materiel to Ukraine", according to Snopes.
Moreover, under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, the US also allocated $33.2 billion (with $11.2 billion paid out) to give military equipment and services to Ukraine.
Therefore, the total amount allocated to Ukraine is about $183 billion, which is still way less than the $350 billion figure claimed by the president.
The amount totals $79 billion in allocations after adding up the amount to replenish the DOD's equipment and direct military assistance to Ukraine.
Out of this, $18.2 billion has been paid out, which is way less than Trump's claim that the US government gave Ukraine "$350 billion for military equipment."
However, Snopes noted that these official numbers are still up for debate. An analysis by Economists for Ukraine on March 6 argued the US government estimates are not sound due to the "inflated valuations of older weapons stockpiles and other contributing factors" and the real value of military assistance to Ukraine stands at "about $18.3 billion."
