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Fact check: Trump’s false claims on Zelenskyy, Ukraine aid – DW – 02/21/2025

Is Zelenskyy a dictator who is refusing to hold elections?
Is Zelenskyy running low in the polls?
Has the US spent $350 billion on Ukraine?
Can Ukraine-attached spending explain the gap?
Who has spent more on Ukraine: the USA or Europe?

Fact Check: Ukraine Did NOT Block Truth Social | Lead Stories

Was the social media platform Truth Social blocked in Ukraine by the Ukrainian authorities? No, that's not true: Truth Social and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs's spokesperson denied the claim. Both said that the social media platform was never made available in Ukraine. Lead Stories found no credible reports corroborating the viral rumor.

Claims that Ukraine banned Truth Social are false | Fact Check

US President Donald Trump has sharply criticized his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in a rift between the two leaders as Kyiv remains locked in a three-year-old war started by a Russian invasion. However, claims that Zelensky retaliated by banning Truth Social are false -- representatives for the social network said it had not launched in Ukraine, and the government there said Trump's platform would be welcome.

Zelenskyy did not block Truth Social in Ukraine | Snopes.com

The claim was false. Truth Social has never been made available in Ukraine. When the app first launched in February 2022, it was available only in the U.S. and Canada. According to a March 2024 report by Ukrainian media watchdog Detector Media, the platform's reach still remains limited to a few countries.

Fact Check: Did Ukraine ‘Psychological Warfare’ Unit Get $140M From USAID?

False. For the $140 million claim to have been true, USAID would have had to have paid out more to this "Psychological Warfare" center than most of its actual spending obligations.

The image used to support the claim was based on a nonexistent article, edited from a real but unrelated story by Fox News, not about Ukraine. The claim appeared on Russian Telegram accounts before it was spread widely by English-speaking commentators on X, formerly Twitter.

‘Dealmaker in chief’ ‘frustrated’ by Zelensky’s rejection of ‘historic opportunity’ to give up 50% of its mineral wealth to US – Washington Examiner

As reported by AP, the US president stated that it took Bessent a long time to arrive in Kyiv, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was reportedly sleeping and unavailable for a
meeting. [...]

In fact, Zelensky met with Bessent for almost an hour on Feb. 12, as pictures posted on his presidential website confirmed. Zelensky did not sign the deal but promised to "review this document and do our best to ensure that our teams reach agreement very quickly."

Fact Check: Trump’s ‘Dictator’ Attacks On Zelensky – Barron’s

A misleading poll said that Zelensky has a 4% approval rating. Zelensky told reporters it was a Russian figure and that Ukraine had 'proof' that it had been used in talks between Russian and US officials

How much U.S. aid went to Ukraine? Detangling Trump, Zelensky’s claims. – The Washington Post

In his remarks, Zelensky went on to say that he knew a large part of U.S. aid came not in direct funds but in the forms of weapons, training, humanitarian programs and in other areas. He said: “I don’t know where all this money is.”

Trump appeared to take the comment as an admission that the money was lost. But while Zelensky said he did not know exactly how it was spent, his understanding appeared to comport with U.S. accounting that shows a large share went to activities carried out to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including within the United States.