OpinionDoes Trump have a point about Ukraine? Take our quiz.
As House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and former president Donald Trump blockade further U.S. aid to Ukraine, you might wonder why the United States should send billions to a faraway country when Americans need help here at home.
What do the facts suggest? Some of the questions below might seem easy. But they weren’t for many of the people we asked. (We partnered with Gapminder, a Swedish nonprofit, to survey 600 people ages 18 to 65 about Ukraine spending. The sample was balanced to reflect U.S. demography.)
✓ Check Yourself
Test your assumptions in The Post's editorial quiz, powered by Gapminder.
1 of 5
What share of the entire U.S. economy (gross domestic product) has been spent on military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded?
Some 20 other nations have spent more supporting Ukraine, as a share of their economies, than the United States has. Even so, the entire U.S. economy is so big it’s hard to grasp. How about comparing U.S. aid for Ukraine with spending on critical domestic programs?
2 of 5
The aid the United States has given to Ukraine since Russia invaded is how much compared with the federal government’s annual spending on Social Security?
In fairness, the U.S. government spends a lot on Social Security every year. The program is the federal government’s second-biggest budget item. Let’s find a more modest comparison.
3 of 5
Compared with the interest payments the United States paid on the national debt in 2022, the amount of aid the country has given Ukraine since Russia invaded is:
Now let’s explore how Ukraine military aid compares with U.S. defense programs.
4 of 5
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States has provided about $47 billion in military aid to Kyiv. What share of the United States’ typical yearly defense spending is that?
5 of 5
Over the 70 years it is expected to be in operation, how much will the United States spend buying, maintaining and repairing its fleet of F-35 fighter jets?
Millions, billions, trillions — the numbers can seem the same: impossibly large. Perhaps that is why this essential reality is not more commonly understood: Investing in Ukraine’s defense doesn’t cost the United States all that much in the grand scheme of U.S. priorities, particularly if it deters Russia from threatening NATO allies that the United States is treaty-bound to defend — or China from committing acts of aggression, perhaps against Taiwan. Not to mention that, as Marc A. Thiessen explained in a recent Post column, much of the spending goes to U.S. firms manufacturing weapons for Ukrainian use.
The investment isn’t costless or without risk. It’s possible that Ukraine might never develop into the full-fledged, Western-oriented democracy it has the potential to become. But the opportunity to cultivate one of Europe’s largest countries, rich in resources, as a U.S. partner holds the promise of direct benefits to the United States and its allies. Even if you aren’t persuaded by the moral case for helping a vulnerable democracy fight for its freedom, the spending is still worth it.