Fact Check: Did White House Say WW II Won by 'Americans and Ukrainians'?

The recent passage of $60.8 billion in aid for Ukraine's fight against Russian forces has reaffirmed U.S. support for the embattled country, despite months of opposition from elements of the Republican Party.

After the bill was approved in a 79-18 Senate vote and signed by President Joe Biden last month, he said it would provide "vital support to America's partners so they can defend themselves from threats to their sovereignty." The bill included military aid for Israel and Taiwan.

However, the multibillion-dollar aid package is just one chapter in the history of U.S. and Ukrainian ties, at least according to a viral video that showed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying Washington and Kyiv had fought against Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin nearly 80 years ago.

The Claim

A Wednesday post on X (formerly Twitter) by user @Sprinterfactory, which has been viewed 443,200 times, reads: "White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that World War II was won by the Americans and Ukrainians, who fought together against Stalin..."

The post included a video of what appears to be Jean-Pierre speaking to reporters. The video shows a reporter asking her: "Meanwhile, it's known that Ukraine itself has mixed views on this ideology. Why aren't we condemning Ukrainian manifestations of Nazism and continuing to sponsor it?"

Jean-Pierre responded: "Seventy-nine years ago, the United States and our Ukrainian allies joined forces to combat the oppressive regimes of Hitler and Stalin. While Berlin is now an ally, the threat from the East persists. That's why we're committed to standing by Ukraine and offering our full support in any way we can."

The Facts

This video has been edited. To begin with, it contains Russian subtitles, the first clue that it was created by misinformation actors. Newsweek found a version of the same video on a pro-Russia Telegram channel, posted before the English-language post on X. Reports about the video have been shared on Russian news sites and blogs.

The notion of "denazification" has been repeatedly used by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin in an attempt to justify its invasion of Ukraine.

The video itself sounds and looks unusual, with speech not matching the lip movements of either the reporter or Jean-Pierre.

As it turns out, the video is a manipulation of a press conference Jean-Pierre gave on Tuesday at the White House. At that event, the reporter whose voice was manipulated in the video on X asked her about famine in Gaza and disruption to humanitarian aid.

There was no mention of Hitler, Stalin or the Second World War during the press conference. It is likely the video and audio of Jean-Pierre were created using artificial intelligence tools.

Jean-Pierre did speak about Ukraine, taking questions on Ukrainian reports about a foiled assassination attempt on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the recent aid package for Ukraine approved by Congress.

The press secretary also answered questions on what Biden thought about Putin's reelection in March. Jean-Pierre said the U.S. directed its embassy not to attend Putin's inauguration in protest of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

"So, as you also know, under Putin's leadership Russia launched this brutal and unprovoked war, and Russian authorities have engaged in draconian repression at home as well as aggressive actions abroad," she said. "And so I think we've made ourselves very clear here. I just don't have anything to add."

While the video may be an attempt to make Jean-Pierre look foolish, it doesn't make any sense. There was no U.S./Ukrainian joint fighting against Hitler's or Stalin's forces. The U.S. was allied with the Soviet Union during the war against Nazi Germany, which unconditionally surrendered 79 years ago, ending the conflict in Europe,

Ukraine was invaded and occupied by the Nazis throughout most of the war. It was not fully returned to Soviet control until late 1944.

The Ruling

False

Jean-Pierre did not say that World War II was won by Americans and Ukrainians. The video shared on social media, which appeared on Russian social media and news channels earlier this week, seems to be an AI-manipulated version of a press conference held at the White House earlier this week.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team

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