The U.S. did not accidentally send $6.2 billion to Ukraine. An overestimation of the cost of some military hardware meant that $6.2 billion was not spent in the transfer of U.S. stocks to Ukraine.
While the DOD has said that this can now be used toward future stock drawdowns authorized by the president, that does not mean $6.2 billion has been sent accidentally, and all that implies, to Ukraine.
While Congress has allocated $113 billion worth of spending toward Ukraine, analysis of that spending shows that a significant proportion will not go directly to Kyiv.
Analysis by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks U.S. spending in Ukraine, has suggested the total direct spend to be around $77 billion.
The photo used in the Kennedy campaign ad is from a picture used to help illustrate designs for online stores. The same retouched photo has been used by multiple online outlets.
While Newsweek was unable to find the location of the store, it does appear to have been shot in Russia or a Russian-speaking region.
However, there is no suggestion the choice of the photo was deliberate and is far likelier to have been an oversight of the RFK Jr. campaign team. Other photos the campaign has used for its merchandise were also shot in other locations around the world.
The U.S. committed about $78 billion in humanitarian, financial and military assistance to Ukraine from January 2022 to February 2023, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German-based research organization that tracks nations' support of Ukraine, reported.
The U.S. total included $47 billion in military aid. That figure ranked highest among all nations and 14th as a percentage of gross domestic product.
A Pew Research Center poll in June of U.S. adults age 18 and older found that 31% of respondents said the U.S. is providing the right amount of aid to Ukraine, 28% said too much and 16% said not enough.
The Pentagon did not say that it mistakenly sent Ukraine $6.2 billion in cash.
We rate the Facebook post False.
A representative for Kennedy Jr. told Newsweek via email that "the candidate misspoke."
They added: "What he meant was that spending on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars totaled $8 trillion. He apologizes for the misstatement."
Whatever Kennedy Jr.'s intended message was, the lack of detail does appear to have caused some to believe that the U.S. has spent $8 trillion on Ukraine which is, quite clearly, not correct.
An U.S. podcast host misrepresented a Mexican TV newscast by saying that a Javelin the United States sent to Ukraine ended in the hands of a Mexican cartel.
That's not what the Spanish-speaking anchor said.
Experts also say the supposed cartel member is carrying an AT4, not a Javelin.
A TikTok video claimed to show a cartel member in Mexico carrying a Javelin that the U.S. sent to Ukraine.
We found no evidence that a Mexican cartel obtained U.S. weapons destined for Ukraine. Experts told PolitiFact that the man in the video is carrying what appears to be an AT4 weapon, not a Javelin.
We rate this claim False.
The lesson of the 20th century is that putting “America First” requires us to project strength and deter our enemies from launching wars of aggression — so that U.S. troops to don’t have to fight and die in another global conflagration. The invasion in Ukraine was a failure of deterrence. Only by helping Ukraine win can we prevent further deterrence failures.
If we help Ukraine prevail, we can rewrite the narrative of U.S. weakness; restore deterrence with China; strike a blow against the Sino-Russian alliance; decimate the Russian threat to Europe; increase burden-sharing with our allies; improve our military preparedness for other adversaries; stop a global nuclear arms race; dissuade other nuclear states from launching wars of aggression; and make World War III less likely.
The “America First” conclusion: Helping Ukraine is a supreme national interest.
A call for homeless Americans to join the Ukrainian front? That"s what these advertisements shared on Twitter since April 2023 claim to show. Publications in several languages claim that a poster in the New York subway is offering financial benefits to those who are down on their luck - by fighting in Ukraine. However, there are several visual inconsistencies in the poster that point to it being fake. Plus, Ukrainian authorities have denied the existence of any such campaign.
This isn't accurate. The U.S. banned all imports of Russian oil, natural gas and coal in March 2022 after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.
A caption on an April 26 viral Facebook video claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin "just SHUTDOWN All Oil To The US, Collapsing The US Economy!"
Oil prices have dropped in recent days, but market experts credit that largely to weak demand and economic jitters over banking. This is the opposite of what would be expected with prices if this claim were accurate.
It's not. This claim is Pants on Fire!
