Fact check: US expenditure for the Afghanistan War surpasses aid given to Ukraine
The claim: US aid to Ukraine is double expenditure for Afghanistan War
A Jan. 26 Instagram post (direct link, archived link) shows a video of a man speaking about the war in Ukraine.
"Recap of all the Money Laundering that we have given to Ukraine," reads text included in the post.
The man claims the U.S. has given Ukraine a total of $91.3 billion in aid, which he says is "double the U.S. expenditure for its own war in Afghanistan."
The post generated over 2,000 likes in less than a week.
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Our rating: False
Congress has approved about $111 billion in aid to Ukraine in the last year, according to a military expert. However, this is far less than the U.S. expenditure in Afghanistan, reports show.
Post distorts US expenditure for Ukraine, Afghanistan
The post understates how much aid the U.S. has given to Ukraine since Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022. To date, Congress has approved four aid packages that total about $111 billion in military, humanitarian and economic support to the Ukrainian government, Mark Cancian, senior adviser for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told USA TODAY in an email.
In 2022, lawmakers approved over $13 billion in March, more than $40 billion in May, over $12 billion in September and about $45 million in December in aid for Ukraine.
The post’s claim that the amount is double what the U.S. spent in the Afghanistan War is incorrect. The Afghanistan War began in 2001, after the U.S. launched a campaign against the Taliban regime in the country, and lasted until 2021.
There are multiple ways of looking at the cost of the Afghanistan War.
Fact check roundup: What's true and what's false about the Russian invasion of Ukraine
The Department of Defense reported its cumulative obligations for Afghanistan, including fighting and reconstruction, totaled just short of $850 billion from 2002 to Sept. 30, 2021, according to the latest report from The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
However, researchers at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs estimated that the U.S. cost for the Afghanistan war between 2001 and 2022 totaled over $2 trillion. The estimate includes operation costs in both Afghanistan and Pakistan and interest on war borrowing, among other things.
Either amount is far above the $111 billion allotted so for in Ukraine aid.
"The Afghanistan (war) was much more expensive because so many U.S. forces were involved," Cancian said. "Combat operations are expensive."
The Instagram post also claims U.S. aid to Ukraine is almost 33% more than what Russia has spent on its military throughout the invasion. But USA TODAY found conflicting information on Russia's expenditures.
“I don’t think anyone can say with good confidence how much Russia has spent on the war," Michael Kofman, research program director for the Russia Studies Program at the nonprofit CNA, told USA TODAY in an email.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment.
PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
Mark Cancian, Jan. 30, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Michael Kofman, Jan. 30, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Ian Johnson, Jan. 30, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Yuval Weber, Jan. 30, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Kim McIntyre, Jan. 30, Email exchange with USA TODAY
USA TODAY, Dec. 23, 2022, Congress OKs $1.7 trillion spending plan with Ukraine aid, TikTok ban. Here's what we know.
House Committee on Appropriations, accessed Jan. 30, UKRAINE SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2022
Congress.gov, May 21, 2022, Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022
The New York Times, Sept. 30, 2022, Biden Signs Stopgap Spending Bill With $12.3 Billion in Aid to Ukraine
Senate Appropriations Committee, accessed Jan. 30, Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023
Council on Foreign Relations, accessed Jan. 31, The U.S. War in Afghanistan
Department of Defense, Jan. 30, Quarterly report to Congress
Brown University, accessed Jan. 31, HUMAN AND BUDGETARY COSTS TO DATE OF THE U.S. WAR IN AFGHANISTAN, 2001-2022
Forbes Ukraine, Nov. 24, 2022, In nine months, Russia spent $82 billion on the war
The Jamestown Foundation, Oct. 6, 2022, Russia’s Skyrocketing Defense Spending, 2022–2023
PolitiFact, Jan. 27, U.S. spending in Afghanistan dwarfs aid to Ukraine
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Post distorts US expenditures in Ukraine, Afghanistan
