Economic value of US aid to Ukraine is twice lower than official estimates – study
Pravda Ukraine
The real value of US military aid to Ukraine is much lower than officially stated. Instead of the more than US$60 billion that Washington claims, the actual amount is estimated at US$18.3 billion.
Source: a study by the Economists for Ukraine
Details: It is noted that the main reason for the discrepancy is an overestimation of old US arms stockpiles. The Ministry of Defence said the supplied equipment was worth US$31 billion, but researchers estimate its real value at US$12.5 billion. Much of the equipment was decommissioned and its use in combat is limited, further reducing its value.
Indirect deliveries of equipment through allied countries, including Poland, amount to about US$20 billion in defence investments, but only US$340 million of this has reached Ukraine directly.
Over the three years of the war, the United States provided Ukraine with US$50.9 billion. Of this, US$32.6 billion was spent on budget support—salaries, pensions, and other expenses reimbursed through the World Bank and USAID mechanisms.
“Public statements about aid to Ukraine often fail to take into account the difference between appropriations and actual aid provided,” the Economists for Ukraine noted.
Second, a significant portion of the funds is spent on ordering new weapons systems from the US, but deliveries are very delayed. Out of the US$12.1 billion allocated for the purchase of new equipment, the real value of aid to Ukraine is estimated at only US$5.5 billion.
In addition, part of the US aid comes in the form of loans and guarantees. For example, the United States used frozen Russian assets to secure US$25 billion in loans to Ukraine and Moldova.
For example, a US$156 million loan allowed Ukraine to purchase American-made locomotives, supporting 800 jobs in Pennsylvania.
Overall, the study concludes that the actual value of US military assistance to Ukraine is US$18.3 billion, while another US$32.6 billion was provided in the form of budgetary assistance, mostly through cost-reimbursement mechanisms.
Thus, the total value of the assistance provided over the three years was US$50.9 billion—an average of about US$17 billion per year. This reportedly corresponds to only 0.25% of the US federal budget, roughly the same amount Washington spends on the maintenance and energy supply of government buildings.
The report’s authors also emphasised that Ukraine carefully controls all revenues. Thanks to the electronic government system, every hryvnia spent can be tracked—from civil servants’ salaries to the purchase of office paper. The audits revealed no abuses or anomalies in the use of international aid.
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