FACT CHECK: Did Ukraine Kill 12 Generals In A Single Day With HIMARS? | Check Your Fact
Verdict: Misleading
Ukraine did not kill 12 generals in a single day, though they claimed the deaths of several Russian officers in December 2022.
Category Aid to Ukraine
Five fact-checks about the war in Ukraine
Russia's invasion of Ukraine this year kept our fact-checkers very busy. We wrote 92 articles debunking false claims about information related to the war. These ranged from claims the Bucha massacre was staged to false TV reports and accusations of Nazism among Ukrainians. To mark the end of the year, we made a list of some of our top fact-checks about Ukraine.
How we debunked reports of anti-Zelensky graffiti in a Paris suburb
Did graffiti depicting the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a black hole "absorbing European money" really appear on the streets of a Paris suburb? That's what a photo that has been circulating on social media since November 29 seems to show. However, our team found no trace of this graffiti at the actual site. Our forensic analysis of the photo shows signs that it was digitally altered. We also consulted some street art experts, who pointed out some inconsistencies in the art.
Did Ukraine Give Up Nukes for Russia, U.S. Security Guarantees?
The Budapest Memorandum, signed in December 1994, resulted in Ukraine voluntarily handing over its nuclear arsenal, as well as other military stocks and munitions, to Russia.
In exchange, Moscow vowed to respect Ukraine's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.
The U.S. and the U.K. were among the co-signatories, but stopped short of providing "guarantees" (which would have entailed a direct military intervention) and instead offered "assurances," a term that left some wiggle room for a response to potential aggression from Moscow.
U.S. Aid to Ukraine, Explained
When asked whether Republicans would “make it more difficult” for Congress to approve Ukrainian aid, Rep. Mike Turner criticized the $40 billion package enacted in May, saying: “We don’t need to pass $40 billion large Democrat bills ... to send $8 billion to Ukraine.” Much more than that, however, was allocated for military support.
No evidence crypto company FTX laundered Ukraine aid money to Democrats
No, there isn't any evidence that FTX laundered U.S. aid money sent to Ukraine back to Democratic lawmakers.
What Is Behind Claim Joe Biden ‘Laundered’ Billions in Ukraine Aid via FTX?
The claim that funds were effectively "laundered" from Ukraine via FTX back into the U.S., less so to the Democratic party coffers or Biden himself, is unevidenced.
Newsweek has investigated the coverage of this claim across social media and larger media outlets and could find no transaction ID, statements, or any other tangible evidence to support the idea that U.S. funding or crypto donations were washed back to the Democratic Party, through a Ukrainian investment in FTX or otherwise.
The claim does not acknowledge the auditing and scrutiny that U.S. foreign aid receives to ensure that it is spent appropriately on measures relating to Ukrainian assistance.
No evidence Ukraine aid ‘laundered’ to Democrats through FTX
An article shared thousands of times on social media claims FTX, a now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, funneled US aid meant for Ukraine to Democratic candidates running in the midterm elections instead. This is unproven; public records show no evidence supporting the allegation, which Kyiv, the Pentagon, FTX partners and experts have said is inaccurate.
Video game clip falsely shared as footage of Russian tanks struck by US-supplied missiles in Ukraine
A video viewed tens of thousands of times on social media has been falsely shared as showing Ukrainian troops attacking Russian tanks with US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles. While the missiles are among armaments sent by the United States and Western countries to Ukraine after Russia's invasion in February 2022, the clip in fact shows footage from the video game ARMA 3.
FTX helped with a cryptocurrency fundraising site, but there’s no connection to U.S. aid to Ukraine
FTX, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Nov. 11 it had filed for bankruptcy. Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as the company's CEO. He is a large donor to Democrats, but has also given to Republicans.
FTX partnered with a fundraising site called Aid for Ukraine, where people can donate cryptocurrency to help the country's war effort. FTX's role in the project was to facilitate the conversion of cryptocurrency into regular currency.
There's no evidence that U.S. aid money sent to Ukraine was then used to invest in FTX. Most U.S. aid doesn't go directly to the Ukrainian government, but rather through third parties like contractors or humanitarian groups.
Our ruling
An Instagram post claimed that U.S. aid money sent to Ukraine is being funneled back in the form of campaign contributions to Democrats through the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
FTX's former CEO was a large donor to Democrats, but has also given to Republicans. The company's connection to Ukraine was partnering with a fundraising site called Aid to Ukraine that allows people to donate cryptocurrency for the country's war effort. That money was then transferred to the Ukrainian government, not the other way around.
There is no evidence to support the claim. We rate this False.
Update, Nov. 16, 2022: This story was updated to include statements from the U.S. State Department, the United States Agency for International Development and Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation that were received after publication. It also clarifies the job title for Alex Bornyakov. The rating is unchanged.