---
title: "Trump on the War in Ukraine: 'We Sell, We Don't Give'. A Breakdown of Figures and Facts"
description: "Trump stated that the US is not fighting in Ukraine but merely selling weapons, and criticized the \"mad\" aid of his predecessors. Experts analyzed his words: the figure of $350 billion is a fabrication, and the name Obama was likely substituted for Biden. 🇺🇸🇪🇺💰"
date: 2026-06-16T14:41:32.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/trump-on-the-war-in-ukraine-we-sell-we-dont-give-a-breakdown-of-figures-and-facts
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Trump on the War in Ukraine: 'We Sell, We Don't Give'. A Breakdown of Figures and Facts

![Donald Trump in a blue suit making a gesture symbolizing sale or exchange, against an American flag backdrop — illustration for article on his stance regarding aid to Ukraine](https://xab.info/media/2026/06/16/tramp-o-voyne-v-ukraine-mi-prodaem-a-ne-darim-razbor-tsifr-i-faktov/tramp-o-voyne-v-ukraine-mi-prodaem-a-ne-darim-razbor-tsifr-i-faktov-1.webp)

On June 16, 2026, during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, US President Donald Trump made a bold statement regarding America's role in the Ukrainian conflict. The White House chief emphasized that the United States is not directly involved in the war but is merely selling arms, urging Europe to take full financial responsibility for supporting Kyiv.

"We do not give weapons for free, we sell them. This affects us in no way other than the fact that we sell weapons. We are thousands of miles away," Trump stated, distancing his administration from the hostilities.

In his speech, the former president (in the context of 2026 — the incumbent) sharply criticized the policies of his predecessors. He accused Barack Obama of allegedly giving Ukraine $350 billion worth of weapons for free, calling it "madness." However, a factual analysis shows that Trump's statement contains serious inaccuracies regarding both names and figures.

### Name Error: Obama or Biden?

American media and experts immediately noticed the oddity of the phrasing. Trump likely confused the names and meant his immediate predecessor, Joe Biden. It was under the Biden administration that massive military aid packages were allocated, becoming the subject of sharp debates in the US. Under Obama, support for Ukraine, while provided, was of a different nature and scale.

### The Math of Aid: Where Did the $350 Billion Come From?

The figure of $350 billion mentioned by Trump finds no confirmation in official data. For comparison, here are the real figures:

    - Over both terms of Barack Obama's presidency (2009–2017), the total military aid to Ukraine amounted to only about $2.1 billion, including non-lethal equipment.

    - The total volume of all American aid (military, financial, and humanitarian) during Joe Biden's term amounted to approximately $110–120 billion.

Thus, the sum named by Trump is almost three times higher than the actual volume of support provided by the US in recent years.

[](/en/images/trump-on-the-war-in-ukraine-we-sell-we-dont-give-a-breakdown-of-figures-and-facts-2)

### New Focus: The Middle East and Iran

Aside from criticizing the past, Trump outlined the vector of foreign policy for the near future. He added that at this stage, the US intends to shift the focus of its geopolitical attention to the Middle East and the finalization of an agreement with Iran. In this new paradigm, further financial and material support for Kyiv, in the president's opinion, should become the responsibility of European countries, which, according to him, now fully pay for arms supplies.