The U.S. spent more than $849 billion in the 20-year war in Afghanistan and has spent about $113 billion to support Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022. But a video on social media falsely claims that the aid for Ukraine is “double the U.S. expenditure for its own war in Afghanistan.”
In March 2022, Biden said the supply of tanks and other equipment with—crucially— American troops on the ground would amount to what he described as "World War 3".
While the arrival of M1-Abrams tanks to Ukraine is new, the U.S. has funded the upgrade and supply of Soviet-era tanks to Kyiv.
President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 25, 2023, that the U.S. is sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
Earlier in the war, almost a year ago, Biden said, "The idea that we're going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews, just understand … that's called 'World War III.'"
A widely shared meme shortened Biden's quote to make it appear as if he said sending tanks alone to Ukraine would cause World War III.
A meme shared in a tweet claimed that in March, Biden said, "The idea that we're going to send in tanks to Ukraine, that's called World War III." Biden announced the U.S. will be sending M1 Abrams tanks about 10 months later.
The quote is edited to leave out the full context of Biden's comments. He said the U.S. would not be sending offensive equipment and planes, tanks and trains with U.S. pilots and crews.
We rate the claim False.
Congress has approved about $111 billion in aid to Ukraine since the country was invaded by Russia in February 2022.
During a 20-year entanglement in Afghanistan, the U.S. spent between $825 billion and $2.3 trillion, depending on the source of the estimate and what's being included.
Even taking the lower estimate of $825 billion, the U.S. would have spent $714 billion more in Afghanistan than in aid to Ukraine.
We rate the claim that the amount the U.S. has spent in Ukraine is "double the U.S. expenditure for its own war in Afghanistan" False.
Verdict: False
There is no evidence NATO has undertaken âOperation Justice.â Check Your Fact has previously debunked claims that NATO is intervening in Ukraine.
Verdict: False
There is no evidence that the Russian Navy has retreated from any body of water. The Ukrainian Navy has reported that several Russian ships remain in the Black Sea.
Two viral videos claim to show the Jan. 18 helicopter crash that killed Ukraine's interior minister and about a dozen others. These videos weren't from the crash.
As the war in Ukraine raged on in early 2023, rumors about the country's president rage with it. From claims about his career, to rumors about illicit drug use, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a magnet for doctored images, misinformation, and more.
Continue below for a collection of stories about the Ukraine president's history before and after the war began.
Verdict: Misleading
Ukraine did not kill 12 generals in a single day, though they claimed the deaths of several Russian officers in December 2022.
Verdict: False
The image is digitally fabricated. There is no evidence that Charlie Hebdo published this cover.
