According to official data published in the US Foreign Agent Registration System (FARA), in 2024, Ukraine spent $62,500 of public funds on lobbying in the US. This is six times less than in 2023 ($366.7 thousand) and seven times less than what Russia spent this year — $461.2 thousand. At the same time, the total amount that Ukraine has directed to lobbying in the US since the start of the full-scale war in 2022 is $5.4 million, while Russia spent $11.8 million over the same period. About this informs The opendatabase.
Although in 2024, the Russian Federation also significantly reduced the amount of funding — 18 times compared to 2023 — even in this reduced form, the Russian lobbying presence in the United States remains 7.4 times more powerful than the Ukrainian one. This means that even under the conditions of sanctions, international isolation and political pressure, Russia maintains channels of influence on the American political process.
It is worth paying attention to the dynamics in other countries of the region. In particular, Poland, which is one of the most consistent partners of Ukraine in the context of security support, spent 245.2 thousand dollars on lobbying in the USA in 2024. This is also less than in previous years, but four times more than Ukraine allocated. In 2022, Polish expenses amounted to almost 2 million dollars, and in 2023 – 1.29 million.
FARA’s data allows you to compare not only the absolute numbers, but also the trend. Ukraine, which in 2022 sharply increased spending on external lobbying to almost 5 million dollars (compared to 980 thousand in 2021), already two years later reduced funding to an almost symbolic level. In 2024, Ukraine’s share in the American lobbying market looks almost imperceptible.
Currently, more than 6,800 lobbying companies are officially registered in the USA, of which about 500 are active. It is these structures that shape access to senators, congressmen, think tanks, and the media that influence the passage of laws, including military aid, funding packages, sanctions regimes, and policy initiatives.
Against this background, it seems indicative that the law on lobbying, signed by Volodymyr Zelenskyi in March 2024, has not yet worked in practice. Its goal was to regulate, make transparent, and institutionalize lobbying activities in Ukraine, which could be a step toward creating more systemic influence outside the country. But the mechanism of implementation of the law still remains in limbo, without clear procedures, by-laws and state decisions.
