• Ar
  • Es
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. US & Canada
  4. US gov. spent $22M on anti-Russia narrative in Ukraine
US & Canada

US gov. spent $22M on anti-Russia narrative in Ukraine

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 20 Feb 2022 09:05
  • 5 Shares

The US has spent $22 million on anti-Russia campaign in Ukraine since 2014, including media training, funding media organizations, and training pro-Western parties.

  • The National Endowment for Democracy has approved 334 grants to Ukraine, and identified it as its
    The National Endowment for Democracy has approved 334 grants to Ukraine and identified it as its "top priority"

As tensions are still increasing between Russia and NATO amid the Ukraine crisis, a report by MintPress News revealed that the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has spent $22.4 million on operations inside the country since 2014.

The NED was established in 1983 by the Reagan administration following a series of public scandals that undermined the CIA's public image. Explaining the NED's creation, its President Carl Gershman said in a 1986 interview, "It would be terrible for democratic groups around the world to be seen as subsidized by the CIA." Its co-founder Allen Weinstein told The Washington Post in 1991, "A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA."

The National Endowment for Democracy, as the MintPress report reveals, was behind a number of prominent uprisings and coups around the world. It currently has 40 active projects in Belarus, and NED senior Europe Program Officer Nina Ognianova even said her agency was involved in protests that took place last year. “We don’t think that this movement that is so impressive and so inspiring came out of nowhere — that it just happened overnight,” she said, adding that NED had made a “modest but significant contribution” to the protests.

Moreover, Cuba's 2021 protests were led by NED-financed operatives, as were the Hong Kong protests. Millions were given to opposition groups in Nicaragua or projects in Venezuela, but the National Endowment for Democracy, whose aim is allegedly to grow and strengthen democratic institutions around the world, has never had a single project in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, or the UAE.

A look into the NED's database shows that it has approved 334 grants to Ukraine, which the Organization's 2019 report identified as its "top priority" because of its "size and importance for the Europe region." The report also shows that NED's focus in the country is on  “counter[ing] foreign [i.e., Russian] malign influence, particularly disinformation and corrosive capital.” Only Russia has been the target of more NED funds in Europe, with $37.7 million going to Russian organizations compared to $22.4 million to Ukraine.

Where the money is going

Although the information is vague on where these funds are going, it seems NED has two major objectives in Ukraine, MacLeod writes:

- Pushing through mass privatization of the country’s state-owned businesses;
- Building up political parties that will represent elite US interests.

The organization also focuses on establishing and supporting pro-Western media outlets and NGOs, such as the ones that backed the 2014 overthrow of Yanukovych and the new pro-Western government's agenda of privatization.

An analysis of the groups receiving the funds shows that the whole operation in Ukraine is an attempt to support the US-backed Zelensky administration and to carry out a foreign interference operation.

  • United States
  • Russia
  • Ukraine
  • Ukraine crisis
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Trending Now

All
Oil prices in the United States have been rising in light of the rising western sanctions on the Russian economy

US oil reaches all-time high amid sanctions on Russia

Most Read

The Middle East Stabilises, Against the Backdrop of a Great Unravelling

The Middle East Stabilises, Against the Backdrop of a Great Unravelling

  • Analysis
  • 28 May
In this image released by the Italian firefighters, a helicopter searches for missing passengers after a tourist boat capsized in a storm on Italy's Lago Maggiore in the northern Lombardy region, May 28, 2023 (AP)

Top Israeli intelligence official dead in Italy: Israeli media

  • Europe
  • 29 May
Haaretz

Mossad agent killed in Italy part of anti-Iran mission: Israeli media

  • Europe
  • Today
US linguist Noam Chomsky, who was among 550 academics who signed the petition calling on Glasgow University to respect free speech (AFP)

Chomsky: EU will deindustrialize if it abides by US-run world order

  • Europe
  • 31 May

Read this

All
Iran, regional countries maritime coalition in the making: Navy chief
MENA

Iran, regional countries maritime coalition in the making: Navy chief

  • Today
The national flags of China, South Africa, India, Russia, and Brazil are put up ahead of a group photo of the participants in the BRICS summit, Xiamen, China, September 4 2017. (Reuters)
Asia

New BRICS currency set to revolutionize world economy: The Post

  • Today
EU
Europe

EU plan to boost ammo production to cost taxpayers billions: Expert

  • Today
PFAS foam gathers at the the Van Etten Creek dam in Oscoda Township, Michigan. PFAS have been used in an extensive array of consumer and industrial applications. (AP)
US & Canada

Top US chemical firms offer $1.2bln for water contamination lawsuits

  • Today
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS