Over 12 years of war against Ukraine, Russia has spent nearly $800 billion – $350 billion more than Ukraine and its allies (the US, EU and UK) combined, and this figure will soon reach a trillion. This was stated by the Director of the Kyiv Security Forum, diplomat Danylo Lubkivsky, on Hromadske Radio following a special KSF event, ‘Twelve years of war. What next?’.

"According to estimates by KSF experts, Ukraine has spent approximately $300 billion on the war over the past 12 years. The United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom together have spent approximately $150 billion. Russia, on the other hand, has spent nearly $800 billion. That is $350 billion more than Ukraine and its allies combined. In fact, Russia will spend a trillion dollars in the near future,‘ said the KSF Director.

Lubkivsky described these expenditures as money spent on ‘Putin’s maniacal obsession with minimal results’.
‘Putin has been in power for 26 years, and for almost half of that time he has been waging war against Ukraine,’ the diplomat added.

At the same time, the Director of the KSF stressed that in the 12th year of the war, the world order is threatened not only by authoritarian regimes.

‘The world order is under attack not only from authoritarian criminals such as Putin, but also from within the democratic environment. The very principles and norms of international law are being undermined, and the concepts of territorial integrity and the inviolability of internationally recognised borders are being called into question,’ Lubkivsky said.

The diplomat explained the main purpose of the special event organised by the KSF, initiated by the Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2014-2016, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, which was attended by the former director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, General David Petraeus, and the ambassadors of Germany, France, Britain, Denmark and Canada.

‘The main goal of the event is to emphasise that this is not just about four years of full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine, but about 12 years of war, which began on 20 February 2014 with Russia's occupation of Crimea and then its invasion of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions,’ Lubkivsky said.

The Director of the KSF summarised three key conclusions that were made during the session.

"First, Putin is not winning. Second, partners need to increase pressure and help Ukraine. This is the unanimous position of all participants, from ambassadors to the representative of Denmark. Third, Europe has already woken up. I often say that Ukraine has made a big investment in Western security: we have given Europe time to act and strengthen its defences. And this process is already yielding results. Our partners recognise the mistakes of the past," Lubkivsky concluded.