President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski in the latest interview with Associated Press stated that his country had only received about $76 billion in aid from the United States, despite the fact that president Joe Biden's administration approved support worth about $175 billion.
Zelenski openly admitted that he did not know where most of the funds allocated by the US to support Ukraine went.
"When I hear – both in the past and now – from the US that America has provided Ukraine with hundreds of billions, as president of a country at war I can say: we have received over 75 billion," said Zelenski.
He besides stressed that this aid was not given in cash but, above all, in the form of weapons, which amounted to about $70 billion.
In the face of reports of a transfer of up to $200 billion to Ukraine, Zelenski powerfully denied it.
"But erstwhile it is said that Ukraine received $200 billion to support the army during the war – that is not true. I don't know where the money went," the Ukrainian president said.
At the same time, he pointed out that funds could have been officially distributed under hundreds of different programs, but the real value of the support that went to Ukraine is around $76 billion.
"Maybe on paper, there are hundreds of different programs – I will not argue and we are very grateful for everything. But we actually got about $76 billion. It is crucial aid, but not 200 billion."
He besides added that it was possible that the U.S. President's administration would conduct an audit and find additional billions, but he "does not know where these funds went."
Zelenski pointed out that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 many organizations left the country and at the same time could besides benefit from US taxpayers' funds. It is possible that any of the funds were allocated to humanitarian programmes, but the Ukrainian leader admitted that he did not have detailed information about this.
"Perhaps additional funds have gone to humanitarian programmes that I am not informed of, but their very existence," he said.
The issue of financial assistance to Ukraine is controversial, especially in the context of allegations of corruption in the country. In 2023, Transparency global ranked Ukraine as the second most corrupt country in Europe, right after Russia, giving it 33 points out of 100 in the transparency ranking.
In addition, the U.S. home of Representatives Supervisory Committee revealed cases of corruption in the Ukrainian government, including: bribes taken by officials, the usage of government vehicles for private purposes, purchases at advanced food prices for the Ukrainian army.
Previously, the issue of corruption in Ukraine was downplayed, but the fresh York Times reported in 2023 that anonymous Ukrainian officials had admitted that any of the US taxpayers' money for military contracts had not been utilized as intended and "disappeared".
How much is Poland's aid to Ukraine?
According to various estimates, Poland provided support to Ukraine worth about PLN 43 billion, or about $10 billion. This aid includes: supplies of arms and military equipment, humanitarian support, aid for refugees residing in Poland.
Poland was at the forefront of the countries supporting Ukraine, both in terms of the value of the aid provided and political and military commitment.
