On September 2, media outlets with pro-government editorial policies POST (1, 2), Imedi, and the newspaper Kartuli Azri posted a video of former independent US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. In the video, he claims that Ukraine has to transfer all its state-owned assets, including agricultural lands, to transnational corporations. The US politician further alleges that the assistance to Ukraine is conditional on this requirement because the aid is not a gift but a loan. Also claims that 30% of Ukraine’s lands have already been sold to three companies – Dupont, Cargill, and Monsanto – which are owned by Blackrock, the world’s largest asset management company, whom, in December 2022, Joe Biden gave a contract to rebuild Ukraine.
On September 2, a report on this topic from Belarus’ First channel, originally aired on 25 March, was posted on Facebook. The report alleges that Blackrock will assist Ukraine in reconstructing the country in exchange for Ukraine’s assets and strategic objects, and if Ukraine fails to repay the loan, these assets will become Blackrock’s property. The report also cites Robert Kennedi as saying that 30% of the lands have already been sold.
A conspiracy theory and disinformation are being spread based on statements of Robert Kennedy Jr.:
- No open sources or official documents confirm that Ukraine is required to transfer agricultural lands and other assets to settle its debts;
- The claim that the above-mentioned corporations have already purchased 30% of Ukrainian lands is false;
- As part of the cooperation that began between Ukraine and Blackrock in 2022, the corporation has been providing free assistance to Ukraine in attracting investors and creating a reconstruction bank.
-
Only a fraction of US assistance to Ukraine is a loan
The video featuring Robert Kennedy Jr., which was disseminated by pro-government media, is not new; it was originally published on January 7. In the video, Kennedy claims that US senators and congressmen call the money given to Ukraine a loan because this allows the US to impose strict conditions on it and, in exchange, to demand that Ukraine transfer its state-owned assets, including agricultural lands, to companies owned by Blackrock. In fact, no such information can be found in official documents related to the aid packages or in open sources. Kennedy also mentions that Senator Tim Scott confirmed during Republican debates that the aid to Ukraine was a loan, not a gift. In reality, in September 2023, Tim Scott stated that 90% of the assistance sent to Ukraine is a loan, which is paid by NATO and NATO allies, not Ukraine, because defeating the Russian military is a national security priority for the USA.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US government has allocated five main aid packages to the country. It is important to note that the majority of this assistance represents direct aid, and none of the documents contain any clause requiring Ukraine to transfer state-owned assets or lands to corporations in exchange for this support.
Source: CSIS
The first and second aid packages mainly covered the 2022 fiscal year and envisaged a total of USD 53.8 billion in assistance to Ukraine. It should be noted that only USD 4 billion of this total amount was categorized as a loan, in particular, under the “Foreign Military Financing Program,” appropriated to Ukraine and other countries affected by this war.
The third and fourth aid packages were also approved by Congress in 2022, but were mainly implemented during the 2023 fiscal year, amounting to a total of USD 60 billion. The money under the third aid package did not include any loans, while the fourth aid package envisaged an USD 80 billion loan under the “Foreign Military Financing Program.”
As a result of pressure from Republic Party members, Congress introduced changes to the fifth aid package for Ukraine, which was approved in April 2024. This package specifies that USD 7.9 billion worth “Economic Support Fund” and USD 1.7 billion worth “Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia” will this time be provided to Ukraine as a loan. Both of these allocations are primarily direct transfers aimed at enabling Ukraine to provide essential state and social services. It is worth noting that these two items were included in all four documents from 2022, but at that time, they were provided as direct aid. The fifth package states that the US President must negotiate loan terms with the Ukrainian government within 60 days of the law’s enactment. However, the document contains provisions allowing loan cancellation. In particular, after November 15, 2024, the US President can cancel 50% of the loan to Ukraine with congressional approval. After January 1, 2026, the remaining debt can be canceled through a similar procedure.
In total, since the start of the war in Ukraine, the US has provided USD 175 billion in assistance, 72% of which has remained in the USA as the weapons and spare parts supplied to Ukraine are manufactured by private contractors in the United States.
-
Foreign companies have not purchased 30% of Ukrainian lands
In the video, Kennedi alleges that 30% of Ukraine’s agricultural lands were purchased by three companies – Dupont, Cargill, and Monsanto – which are owned by Blackrock. A similar claim has already been fact-checked previously and established that it was disinformation. In reality, it is prohibited in Ukraine to sell agricultural parcels to foreign citizens and legal entities. Moreover, the mentioned three companies cannot be found among the owners of Ukrainian lands.
-
Cooperation between Ukraine and Blackrock
On November 10, 2022, Ukraine and Blackrock signed a memorandum in which one of the world’s largest corporations commits itself to assisting Ukraine in rebuilding the country and developing its economy. According to the agreement, Blackrock will act as a consultant, with its primary aim being to help Ukraine develop a platform to attract large private capital. After that, Blackrock, together with JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banks, created a fund for rebuilding Ukraine, the Ukrainian Development Fund, which is a Ukrainian institution with its own employees and management. It should be noted that these corporations do not receive any fees or other forms of remuneration for their advisory services to Ukraine.
It should be noted that Ukraine does have debt owed to Blackrock, which is not surprising given the size of the corporation. Specifically, Blackrock, along with four other companies, holds 20% of Ukraine’s securities, for which Ukraine is obligated to pay annual interest on its debt. However, following negotiations in July of this year, the pressure on Ukraine was reduced and favorable conditions established, resulting in a 75% reduction in the amount Ukraine has to repay by 2033.
Myth Detector has previously checked Robert Kennedy Jr.’s disinformation claims as well.
The article has been written in the framework of Facebook’s fact-checking program. You can read more about the restrictions that Facebook may impose based on this article via this link. You can find information about appealing or editing our assessment via this link.
Read detailed instructions for editing the article.
Read detailed appeal instructions.
