Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro in Kyiv that Ukraine is prepared to face audits of how U.S. support is used, as U.S. watchdog reporting shows Congress has appropriated more than $174 billion for the U.S. response to Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told conservative commentator Ben Shapiro in an in-person interview in Kyiv that his government is willing to undergo outside scrutiny of U.S. aid amid questions from American taxpayers about corruption.
“We’re always ready for any audit,” Zelensky said in the interview, adding: “There’s nothing to hide. We are absolutely open, transparent, and that is what’s happening.”
Zelensky’s comments come as the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported that Congress appropriated more than $174 billion under Ukraine supplemental appropriations acts to support the U.S. response to Russia’s February 2022 invasion, including security assistance as well as economic and humanitarian programs.
A significant portion of that support has not been money handed directly to Kyiv. GAO has said USAID obligated about $22.9 billion in direct budget support for the Ukrainian government through World Bank-managed trust funds, with much of it used to reimburse eligible expenses such as salaries for teachers, civil servants and healthcare workers.
In the interview, Zelensky also drew a distinction between U.S. appropriations and what Ukraine says it has actually been able to use, arguing that some U.S. spending linked to the war is paid out in ways that do not pass through Ukrainian accounts.
Separately, GAO has urged improvements in how U.S. agencies track and oversee assistance, including stronger approaches to monitoring and reporting on non-security funding and continued attention to oversight across categories of support tied to the Ukraine response.
Zelensky said Ukraine remains grateful for U.S. support and argued that continued backing is in the interests of both countries, including by helping prevent the war from spreading toward NATO territory.
