“Europe is basically giving nothing,” Trump said in the interview, while the U.S. is “spending our treasure on some, a country that’s very, very far away.”
But according to Germany’s Kiel Institute, which compiles national contributions to Kyiv’s war effort, both Britain and France have given substantial aid to Ukraine, and Europe as a whole has provided more assistance than the U.S.
In total, European governments have allocated €62 billion in military aid to help Ukraine, as well as €70 billion in financial and humanitarian assistance, the Kiel figures show. Washington has allocated €64 billion in military aid and €50 billion in financial and humanitarian aid, according to the institute.
The American president said he would be “signing an agreement” to retrieve some $500 billion in U.S. funding, apparently referring to a proposed deal for Ukrainian rare earths and other minerals. Kyiv has balked at the minerals agreement as proposed by Washington, reportedly due to at the lack of adequate security guarantees.
In the interview, Trump reversed himself and admitted that Russia launched the full-scale war by attacking Ukraine. Trump on Wednesday blamed Ukraine for causing the conflict, saying Kyiv “should have never started it” and instead should have “made a deal.”
“Russia attacked, but they shouldn’t have let him attack,” Trump told Fox News.