From CEEC: The Five Biggest Lies About Ukraine -- and More Importantly, The Truth

 WASHINGTON , Feb. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The USA is drowning in a sea of misinformation about Ukraine.  The Central East European Coalition (CEEC) www.ceecadvocacy.org consists of the diaspora of 18 countries, representing over 20 million USA voters who have experienced Russian aggression and oppression firsthand. CEEC is setting the record straight.  

1. LIE: Ukraine is really Russia. TRUTH: Ukraine predates Russia. Kyiv was founded in 482 AD, and Moscow was founded in 1147 AD.  Ukraine is a sovereign nation that has been occupied at various times over its history as has nearly every country on the planet. In 1991, Ukraine was one of 15 Soviet Republics that declared freedom from the USSR.  These countries did not then and do not now want to be part of the Russian empire.  Russia's lust for power is not equatable to Ukraine's thirst for freedom, or any sovereign nation's thirst for freedom.
   
   
2. LIE: Ukraine is just another poor country asking for U.S. charity TRUTH: Ukraine, before invasion by Russia, had a strong and growing economy: the second largest grain producer in the world; the second largest natural gas reserve in Europe; one of the world's top steel producers.  In 2022, the year of Russia invaded, Ukraine's GDP contracted 29%, its steel production dropped 71%, and exports fell 35%. Ukraine did not need charity from the U.S.; it needed to repel an invader.
   
   
3. LIE: America doesn't need NATO.  TRUTH: The only time that NATO's Article 5 ("an armed attack against one...shall be considered an attack against all.") was invoked was to help the USA after 9/11, when NATO allies all came to the aid of the USA to fight terrorism.  NATO has been the longest and most successful alliance in the history of the world.  It was formed after WWII as a defense against an aggressive USSR/Russia. We need to keep it strong and use it as model for other alliances around the world. NATO has given its members, including the U.S., an extraordinary degree of peace, prosperity, and security.
   
   
4. LIE: Europe is not helping Ukraine as much as it should.  TRUTH: The U.S. provided more military aid for Ukraine than Europe, but European donors are the main source of total aid to Ukraine especially when it comes to financial and humanitarian aid.  America ranks only 10th globally in its support to Ukraine as a percentage of its GDP.
   
   
5. LIE: America suffers economically by helping Ukraine. TRUTH:  America's defense industry, directly impacting 37 states, providing over 2.2 million jobs to US citizens, has grown because the USA helped Ukraine.  Ukraine received U.S. equipment that was in storage and would otherwise have been decommissioned, and is now being replaced with more modern equipment, improving U.S. military readiness.  For every defense dollar that the U.S. government sends to Ukraine, over 50% comes right back to the USA defense industry.  

Events around the world supporting Ukraine: https://uaworldmap.ukrainianworldcongress.org/en

SOURCE Central East European Coalition