Amid concerns about how billions of dollars of U.S. aid to Ukraine have been spent, Kyrylo Budanov, head of HUR, Ukraine's military intelligence agency, told Newsmax on Tuesday that "we need to figure out where this money went and where it settled."
Congress has appropriated $182.8 billion in humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion three years ago, according to data from the Ukraine Oversight Interagency Working Group, a coalition of two dozen federal government oversight entities, including from the departments of state, defense, and homeland security.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly said earlier this month that Ukraine had received $75 billion directly from the U.S. and that another $100 billion was "never received." It sparked concerns among many regarding where that money went, and charges of corruption were raised.
Data from the working group showed that of the $182.8 billion appropriated as of Dec. 31, $83.4 billion was disbursed, and a total of $96.6 billion has either been obligated and not disbursed or appropriated but not yet obligated. Further, $2.7 billion has expired, meaning those funds are no longer available for obligation.
"I don't think the question is that all these billions disappeared in Ukraine due to corruption," Budanov told "American Agenda" through an interpreter from Kyiv in an interview with Newsmax correspondent Zach Anders. "The issue is deeper here. We need to figure out where this money went and where it settled. And it may turn out that it's not just about Ukraine."
"When they talk about corruption, well, listen, it exists everywhere. Every country fights against it. If every country fights against it, that, at the very least, means that it exists in every country."
Budanov added that a year ago, Ukraine was visited by Biden administration officials regarding an "inspection" about how the funds were being spent and that they came up "with acceptable conclusions."
"Let me repeat myself: It's more of a profound matter," he said. "We have to see where the money was channeled at what price. For example, they were procuring ammunition. Who was the real beneficiary? Through which countries was it going? I mean, it's clear everybody was covering themselves with Ukraine. That's going to be unanimous. But was it really Ukraine? That's an open question."
Meanwhile, Budanov was asked about President Donald Trump referring to Zelenskyy as a dictator because Ukraine's president canceled elections.
"It's a political matter, and how the president of America makes his conclusions, it's only known to him," he said. "I personally don't feel well when a president is called a dictator because that means then we all serve a dictatorship, and I don't see myself as an accessory in a dictator's regime."
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