Less than 50% of aid reaches Ukrainians? A "false" number

• According to Pierre de Gaulle, invited by the Franco-Russian Dialogue association, “less than 50% of the aid reaches Ukrainians” and “50% of the weapons given to Ukrainians are resold on international markets”.

  These figures are given without any source being mentioned.

• These allegations are “false”, affirms to

  20 Minutes

  a spokesperson for the American State Department, equivalent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

• For the US State Department, Russia continues, with this narrative, "to actively promote disinformation about the diversion of weapons by Ukraine, even as the seizure of Ukrainian weapons by pro-Russian forces - including donated material - has so far been the main vehicle for diversion.

  »

The shock statement was taken up on social media.

"Less than 50% of the aid, more precisely subsidies, which are granted to Ukrainians reach Ukrainians," said Pierre de Gaulle, the general's grandson, in a video interview published by the Franco-Russian Dialogue association. on Youtube.

He also argued, in excerpts that have gone viral on Facebook, that "50% of the weapons given to Ukrainians are resold on international markets" to fuel "terrorism" in particular, mentioning the publication of a catalog of 1,000 pages of weapons.

“No media will tell you [it],” commented a user on Twitter in a post shared 500 times.

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The figure given in the interview has no sources.

Where does it come from?

We do not know, it is not specified by Pierre de Gaulle.

The Franco-Russian Dialogue association, created in 2004, presents itself as “a privileged instrument of communication between the political, economic and cultural circles of the two countries”.

It is, moreover, under the influence of two investigations, opened in Paris since 2021, for suspicions of corruption and influence peddling on the one hand and breach of trust and money laundering on the other.

Other figures have found echo recently: a Russian channel maintained that 90% of the weapons supplied to the Ukrainian armed forces by the United States were lost, a figure denied by the Pentagon, on LCI.

In August, it was 30% of military equipment that would only arrive at its destination.

This figure was taken from a CBS report, which was later unpublished.

A quote from an NGO interlocutor had in fact been distorted by the channel and the report did not provide any evidence, as

demonstrated.

Contacted by

, the NGO Transparency International, which fights against corruption, tells us that it has never published information with this 50% share of aid which would be diverted.

“The United States is not aware of credible evidence”

But, first question: how much aid has been provided to Ukraine since February 24, 2022?

The Kiel Institute, in an updated estimate on December 7, 2022, calculated that in total countries have pledged $113.1 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid.

This estimate does not take into account private donations or aid provided by countries indirectly, by funding the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNESCO or NGOs such as the Red Cross.

The United States is by far the leading donor country, with 47.8 billion dollars, including 18.5 billion dollars in arms and military equipment.

Are half of these aids going up in smoke?

These allegations are “false”, affirms to

a spokesperson for the American State Department, equivalent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The United States is not aware of credible evidence of arms diversion provided by the country in Ukraine," he said.

On the contrary, the “articles reach their recipients”, he continues, and the combat units on the front line use “effectively and every day” the weapons sent in “defend their country against Russian aggression”.

A narrative to “discredit kyiv”

For the US State Department, Russia continues, with this narrative, "to actively promote disinformation about the diversion of weapons by Ukraine, even as the seizure of Ukrainian weapons by pro-Russian forces - including donated material - has so far been the main vehicle for diversion.

This is to "discredit kyiv" and to "curb international support for Ukraine".

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This narrative, relayed by Pierre De Gaulle, has already been deciphered by Vox Check, in a study supported by the German NGO Democracy Reporting International and the German Foreign Ministry.

In a study, the authors analyzed, between February 24 and November 15, 2022, 5,000 posts on Telegram channels, a popular broadcasting platform for supporters of Russia.

Two types of channels were distinguished: Russian Telegram channels, administered by Russian authors and addressing a Russian audience, or pro-Russian channels, addressing Ukrainians by presenting themselves as independent media.

“Synchronized and coordinated” disinformation campaigns

Vox Check's work shows how these disinformation campaigns are "synchronized and coordinated", as they are distributed in waves and appear almost simultaneously.

And the authors also detail the more promoted Kremlin propaganda messages.

Among these, we find that on Ukraine, which would resell the arms supplied by its Western partners.

340 such posts were broadcast on Russian or pro-Russian Telegram channels, with peak posts in July, August and November.

The first publications were noted in February-March "before the mass production of so-called resale 'proofs' began," says Vox Check.

On February 28, RT in Russia, based on the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, mentions for the first time that weapons could end up on the black market, but this is then a consequence of the distribution of weapons to civilians, not the resale of weapons supplied by Westerners.

Russian Telegram channels started broadcasting this kind of message from April, then picked up by pro-Russian channels.

A risk of arms diversion by criminal and non-state actors

However, the risk of trafficking is not to be neglected, as could have happened after the Balkan wars in the 1990s. The American State Department specifies that it is "fully aware of the risk of arms diversion" by " criminal and non-state actors” or by “Russian forces or their proxies”.

The Biden administration says it adopted a plan in October 2022 to address the illicit diversion of certain small arms in Eastern Europe.

For the European Council, which agreed in December on a legislative package allowing the EU to provide financial assistance to Ukraine in 2023 to the tune of 18 billion euros (via loans), the regulation adopted provides for “strict information requirements, aimed at ensuring the efficient, transparent and responsible use of funds”.

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