Latest fact checks & sources

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.

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.

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.”

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.

In remarks and social media posts, the president echoed Russian talking points. […] Here’s an assessment of Trump’s misleading statements on Ukraine in recent days.

Attacks by US President Donald Trump on Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky have deepened a crisis between the two leaders as Ukraine’s war with Russia approaches its third anniversary. AFP fact checked some of the statements by the US leader.

Claim: Zelenskyy started the war in Ukraine with Russia. Claim: Zelenskyy is a dictator. Claim: Zelenskyy has a 4% approval rating. Claim: The U.S. spent $350 billion to help Ukraine. Claim: Zelenskyy said he doesn’t know where half of the money the U.S. has given Ukraine went. Claim: Zelenskyy was “sleeping and unavailable” to meet Treasury Secretary Scott Bessett during a Feb. 12 Kyiv visit.

As reported before, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived in Kyiv on 12 February to discuss economic partnership with Ukraine and met with Zelenskyy during his visit.

– A ‘dictator without elections’ – Who started the war? – US aid to Ukraine – Europe’s aid to Ukraine – ‘Millions’ of dead?

Donald Trump’s negotiations with Russia focus on resetting US-Russia relations rather than resolving the Ukraine conflict. He has conceded to several of Moscow’s demands, sidelining Ukrainian interests. This approach raises concerns about a deal that benefits Russia at Ukraine’s expense.

– Claim: Zelenskyy is a ‘dictator without elections’ – Claim: The U.S. has spent $350 billion on the war in Ukraine – Claim: The U.S. has spent $200 billion more than Europe; Europe’s money is guaranteed – Claim: Zelenskyy has a 4% approval rating – Claim: Ukraine started the war with Russia

“I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it’s going very well,” Trump said, answering reporters’ questions on February 18 at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “But today I heard [from Ukraine], ‘Oh well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it three years – you should have never started it, you could have made a deal.” This clashes with the evidence that Russia sent a large invasion force into Ukraine in February 2022.

Some GOP lawmakers distanced themselves from Trump’s statements calling Zelensky a “dictator without elections” and blaming Ukraine for the war

After U.S. and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia to discuss an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, President Donald Trump made several false and misleading statements about the conflict and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump falsely claimed that Ukraine had “started” the war with Russia, saying the country could have made a “deal.” Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He inflated the amount of U.S. aid for Ukraine and wrongly said the U.S. gave “$200 billion more than Europe.” Aid from Europe is higher than that from the U.S. Trump distorted comments Zelenskyy made to claim that the Ukrainian president “admits that half of the money that we sent them is missing.” A Trump administration official has said the U.S. tracks the money. Trump called Zelenskyy a “dictator” and misleadingly said that he “refuses” to have elections. Because of the war, the country is under martial law and can’t have an election, according to Ukrainian law.

Indeed, can confirm. And I was standing right beside where this photograph was taken. And then I stood 10 feet from both Zelensky and Bessent inside the presidential office again an hour or so later, when they emerged from their meeting to brief a small group of reporters.

Social media and Russian websites are spreading claims that Ukraine has attacked a convoy of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The claim was made by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. […] In reality, the attack on the IAEA representatives during their rotation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was carried out by the Russian army. Verified geolocation data confirms that Russian strike systems were active in the area during the movement of IAEA personnel to the plant, specifically near the settlement of Kamianske. No activity of Ukrainian strike systems was recorded in this area on the day of the rotation of IAEA representatives.

Media outlets worldwide covered Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged it as a “special military operation,” saying the offensive would “seek to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.” For years, Russia has sought to blame Ukrainian actions for its invasion.

After US media reported Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had spoken on the phone about ending the Ukraine war, social media users shared a video claiming it shows the US leader giving details of the call. Experts told AFP the video appears to be a deepfake. While neither Washington nor Moscow officially confirmed any conversations between the leaders when the clip surfaced, Trump later revealed he had agreed with Putin to immediately start negotiations during a call on February 12.

False. Tracking of Congressional spending on Ukraine shows it has appropriated nearly $183 billion since Russia’s invasion. Analysis has shown that some of this funding ends up back in the United States, to restock weapons and defense supplies domestically that the U.S. has given to Kyiv. Some funding has not gone directly to Ukraine but to NATO defense partners.

Trump’s claim is not even close to accurate. Zelensky’s approval rating is far higher than 4%. In fact, it has been above 50% in major recent surveys.