According to a pro-Russian politician, quoted by the pro-Kremlin propaganda, the Ukrainian elites stole the money provided by the EU and the US and are willing to sacrifice more and more soldiers just to get richer.
Propaganda: Ukrainian elites have stolen the money provided by the West and will continue the war
NEWS: I was amazed when the European Union made public the sum of all the donations, grants and loans it has allocated to Ukraine over the past year – 105 billion euros. That's a staggering amount. The Americans allocated 134 billion dollars. If we add it up, we get $240 billion. As a former prime minister, I have never dealt with such large sums. Our highest GDP, srecorded in 2012, was $188 billion.
So, with this amount of money, two Ukraines could be created, in fact. But where is that second Ukraine? How can ordinary people feel all this money? Has anyone among the common people started to live better? Not.
It is clear that this money got lost along the way. And, of course, a significant part of human resources was buried in graves for this money. The question arises: what kind of moral integrity does the current leadership of Ukraine have to use these huge sums to the detriment of their own country?
NARRATIVES: 1. Ukrainian leaders have stolen money allocated by the EU and the US, and the funds have not improved the lives of civilians. 2. In order to obtain funds from the West, Ukrainian leaders are willing to sacrifice an increasing number of soldiers.
PURPOSE: To sow distrust in the Ukrainian authorities by deepening the sense of frustration and war weariness; to justify Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, allegedly aimed at removing the "corrupt and inefficient" Ukrainian leaders.
Reality: The amounts mentioned by the Russian propaganda as aid to Ukraine are much smaller; the funds cannot improve the lives of civilians because they are used to strengthen defenses against Moscow's aggression
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: In reality, the sums mentioned by the former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov as aid to Kyiv over the past year are exaggerated. The EU and its member states did not give Ukraine 105 billion euros in one year, but 114 billion in the past almost three years. The structure of these funds is known and transparent: financial, economic and humanitarian aid – 57.8 billion, military aid – 39 billion, aid for refugees within the EU – 17 billion. The EU's aim was to provide short-term financial aid, to finance Ukraine's immediate needs and support defense.
In the context of the war in Ukraine, the US has so far provided approximately 113.4 billion dollars for the support of that country. Although the US has allocated billions of dollars to support Ukraine since spring 2022, the effects of this aid have not always been felt immediately on the battlefront due to delivery delays and limitations. Only a small percentage of the total aid package is transferred to Kyiv, most of the funds go straight back to the US economy , especially the defense industry. However, US aid has been crucial to Ukraine's resilience, and any disruptions to that aid flow have serious consequences on the front line.
So, the amounts announced by the Russian propaganda are not real and only a small part has reached Ukraine in the form of money, the rest representing the value of ammunition, weapons and defense equipment delivered. Likewise, in the case of the EU, around 17 billion euros have been spent to support war refugees, and these funds cannot be embezzled by Ukrainian leaders because they have been managed on the territory of the member states. The Western funding cannot possibly cause an immediate economic revival and improvement in people's lives because most of the aid is aimed at helping the military stop the Russian invasion or prevent a collapse of the economy.
Mobilization in Ukraine is meant to ensure the country's defense against the Russian Federation’s armed aggression and is not a means by which the Ukrainian leaders are sacrificing civilians. After the large-scale Russian invasion that began on February 24, 2022, Ukraine decreed general mobilization to defend its territory and sovereignty. The mobilization was aimed at supplementing Ukraine's military forces, thus providing enough soldiers and necessary resources (vehicles, equipment) to face the aggression. In the context of this intense and protracted conflict, mobilization has been essential to mount an effective defense and maintain Ukraine's ability to resist and counter the Russian offensive.
The war has caused enormous losses to Ukrainian society and its political and economic elites. Infrastructure has been destroyed, government debt is rising, and most social spending is based on foreign borrowing. The economic potential of the country is in decline. Large factories, refineries and businesses were destroyed or severely damaged, and a number of economic sectors stopped their activity.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, which conducted a study together with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the Ukrainian state loses 11.2 billion dollars annually due to minefields and explosion risks. The biggest losses are caused by the reduction in the export of grain and the decreasing revenue from the collection of local taxes. The amount of 11.2 billion dollars represents 5.6% of Ukraine's GDP in 2021, claims the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy. The cost of Russia’s unprovoked invasion is enormous and cannot in any way be in the interest of the government in Kyiv, which is trying to maintain control over the critical situation in the country.
CONTEXT: The former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov fled to Russia during the pro-European protests of 2013-2014. He is now frequently used by the pro-Kremlin propaganda to spread disinformation messages. In March of this year, prosecutors in Kyiv charged him with treason for anti-Ukrainian activities and collaboration with the war propaganda of the Russian Federation.
Veridica has debunked a series of false narratives about the nature of the war in Ukraine. According to the Russian propaganda, the West wants to destroy Ukraine and the Orthodox Church. The Russian media writes that Moscow’s troops are only bombing Ukraine’s military infrastructure , and the EU will finance the war against Russia until all Ukrainians are dead .
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