The United States’ steadfast allegiance to Ukraine during that country’s three-year war against Russia appears to be rapidly eroding under the Trump administration. President Donald Trump on Feb. 19, 2025, referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “a dictator” and inaccurately blamed him for the conflict that Russia instigated as part of a land grab in the border regions of the two countries.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said on Feb. 19 that Trump is trapped in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “disinformation space.”
Earlier this week, the US president claimed America had given Ukraine at least $200bn (£158bn) more than Europe has since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.
Mr Trump said: “I think Europe has given $100bn (£79n)… and we’ve given, let’s say, $300bn (£237bn) plus.”
There are a number of figures available for the amount of money being given to Ukraine by different countries.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy’s Ukraine Support Tracker shows that countries in Europe have allocated a total of €132bn (£109bn or $139bn) in help for Ukraine.
The tracker shows the US has allocated around €114bn (£95bn or $120bn).
There is also a debate about how much money countries say they have given to Ukraine has actually gone to the country itself.
According to The Washington Post, some of the money given by Washington includes sending money through “drawdowns” from US weapon stockpiles and money to pay US-based defence contractors for equipment.
One thing that has fuelled the fires of anti Ukrainian sentiment by both those on the left and right is the belief that the whole war is a money making scam – the sovereignty of the nation of Ukraine does not matter in this argument and their ability to self determination also unimportant, the more I think about it this perspective is very much one pushed by Putin onto the west and lapped up by President Trump and conspiracy theorists arguing the toss about money spent rather than a democratic right and mandate to defend and have ones own land.
Land, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—those once beautiful values all democracies believed in and aspired to. Such views, though claimed by the right to be at the heart of their ideals, are no longer really recognized, sadly, by Trump’s America or by other rising stars of the right across the globe.
When the Brazilian president offered a chainsaw as a gift to Elon Musk, it carried deeply troubling connotations for me: this was a gift from a country that is razing one of the lungs of the Earth, the Brazilian rainforest, and the president of Brazil presents Musk with the very symbol of what is being used to destroy his own country’s rainforests – it feels like a flagrant display of right-wing fascism, tasteless and defiant, a blatant middle finger to the world under the banner of hate, cuts, and a conqueror’s philosophy.
With the climate breakdown and global warming, there were those that believed that the breakdown of social norms and an increase in wars would occur as the planet warmed and climate change impacted our lives, but I had underestimated and underfeared the true nature of the changes now occurring right in front of our eyes. I knew there would be wars, but I thought they would be over mineral deposits in Africa or oil in the middle east and not economic wars over the sovereignty of whole nations in what was once seen as relatively stable or growing democracies such as Ukraine or even well established democracies such as Canada are not safe against Trumps trade wars. Sadly know where is safe anymore; it’s mental, really, what is happening.
Welcome to Huwspace 
Recently, a former Russian intelligence officer named Alnur Mussayev claimed that Donald Trump was recruited by the KGB in 1987 and given the codename “Krasnov”. Mussayev alleged that Trump was targeted due to his status as a prominent American businessman and that his recruitment was part of a broader strategy to gather intelligence from Western business leaders.
These claims are unverified and have sparked a lot of speculation and debate. Trump and his representatives have denied any improper ties to Russia or collusion with President Vladimir Putin, but actions speak louder than words. If Trump isn’t Putin’s puppet, he’s doing a great imitation of one.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes I had read about that and was tempted to write about it too, really there is no reason why it might not be true but also no way it could ever really be proved. Putin’s Russia are very good at casting doubt on democratises and the story plays well for Russia whether it’s factually true or not. Anthony Scaramucci, Trump’s briefly tenured White House communications director. Speaking on The Rest Is Politics podcast, Scaramucci claimed that Trump’s strange admiration for Putin puzzled even his closest advisers. Saying “There is a mysterious ‘hold’ on the president,”
LikeLiked by 2 people