Fact check: What is the truth behind Trump's claims on Ukraine?

Euronews Fact check: What is the truth behind Trump's claims on Ukraine? Estelle Nilsson-Julien • 10 hrs • 4 mins reading time US President Donald Trump has caused a stir this week with several statements about Russia's war in Ukraine and the government in Kyiv. Trump shared a number of claims. Among them, he called his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" on his Truth Social platform. He also repeated this at a press conference held at his Mar-a-Lago villa in Florida on Wednesday. European leaders have reacted with outrage to the US president's statements, while Zelensky accused Trump of living in a bubble of disinformation - created by Russia. A drastic change in relations compared to former US President Joe Biden and his administration. Euroverify has investigated the facts behind Trump's statements, which cast doubt on Washington's continued support for Ukraine. Zelensky is not a "dictator" with a 4% approval rating During his press conference on Wednesday, Trump claimed that Ukraine is "basically under martial law," adding that Zelensky has "a mere 4% approval rating." Zelensky was elected in democratic elections in May 2019, receiving 73% of the vote in the second round. Four years later, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, martial law prohibited the holding of elections in line with the country's constitution. Zelensky has repeatedly stated that the elections will be held after the war, and his main rivals also rejected calls for a martial law vote. According to a KIIS poll published in February 2022, 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelensky - up from 52% in December. Another poll estimated Zelensky's approval rating in Ukraine at 63%. Meanwhile, 74% of Ukrainians describe Zelensky as a patriot, 73% as an intelligent and knowledgeable leader, and 65% as a strong personality leading the country through the war. "Spreading misinformation about Zelensky's legitimacy directly supports Kremlin propaganda and undermines the right of the Ukrainian people to determine their own future," said Olga Onuch, professor of comparative and Ukrainian politics at the University of Manchester. The US is not providing more support to Ukraine than the EU In a post he published on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump claimed that the US had donated "$350 billion"** (€334 billion) to Ukraine. He also claimed that the United States had spent "$200 billion (€191.1 billion) more than Europe" on support. Although there are different statistics and methods for measuring the support provided to Ukraine, the US has given less than Trump claims - and has not outpaced Europe. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, EU and individual state support totals around €132.3 billion, compared to €114.2 billion from the US. The largest contributions as a percentage of GDP were made by Estonia and Denmark, which allocated more than 2% of their pre-war GDP to direct support for Ukraine. In the same post on Truth Social, Trump accused the Ukrainian president of corruption, writing, "Zelensky admits half of the money we sent him is missing." In an interview with the Associated Press earlier this month, Zelensky explained that while Ukraine has received more than €191 billion in US support, it has only received about €72.5 billion from the US, mostly in the form of weapons. Zelensky said he did not know where all this extra money went, but added that the total figure could be correct "on paper." It is believed that Zelensky was pointing out that a large part of the US support for Ukraine is not paid out in the form of money to the government. This is because much of the US military aid to Ukraine goes to weapons produced in US factories, as well as payments to US soldiers. Russia is deploying significant military resources in Ukraine In his press conference on Wednesday, Trump claimed: "Russia has no intention of destroying Kyiv, and if it wanted to, it would have done so. Russia is capable of wiping out Ukrainian cities 100%, including Kyiv, but right now they are only attacking 20%." Most data suggests that Russia has invested a significant part of its military power in invading Ukraine.