Is it true that Great Britain paid for a Lend-Lease until 2006?

In February 2025, saying that Ukraine should conclude an agreement on minerals with the United States, Boris Johnson had a parallel with UK experience: Lend-Lease was robbery, but helped win the Second World War. We checked the words of the politician that his country paid for allied assistance for more than 60 years.

In an interview with Dmitry Gordon, a former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, published on February 26, also commented on the possible signing of an agreement between the United States and Ukraine on the joint development of Ukrainian minerals. The politician suggested that the contract is beneficial to Washington (prove to critics that the support provided by Ukraine was not in vain), and Kyiv (will make the US interest to support the tangible), so it is worth going to the deal, no matter how difficult it is. Johnson brought A historical example: “In 1941, Franklin Roosevelt received huge amounts of money from the British, many military bases in the Caribbean, on Newfoundland, etc. In exchange for support under the Lend-Lalu program. By the way, the UK continued to pay [debts] on Lend-Lease until 2006. ” At the time of writing this analysis, the video scored 538,000 views.

Similar statements by Johnson did And two days earlier at the Yalta European Strategy forum in Kyiv. Quotes from his speech published Russian, Ukrainian And World Media. At the forum, the former British prime minister called the terms of the land-alley robber and complained that the royal fleet received “old rusty vessels” instead of normal ships.

In the first weeks of World War II, which began in September 1939, the United States sought Save neutral In relation to the events taking place in Europe. Although the presidential administration Franklin Delo Roosevelt sympathized with the democratic regimes of Great Britain and France and was poorly related to Hitler Germany and its allies, many other politicians and most citizens They were against it Interventions to the war, including the supply of weapons of any of the parties. This was partly due to the negative experience of the First World War, when the United States generously issued loans to the Allies, but in the end, Great Britain and some other countries during the Great Depression Defolt was announced For these debts. Neither businessmen nor ordinary Americans wanted repetition of such unpleasant experience. Since 1935 in the USA acted The law on neutrality, directly forbidden to export the weapon to any warring countries.

Gradually, this law was revised in accordance with the events unfolding in Europe. So, in 1937, a reservation was added to it that warring countries could purchase any goods in the United States except weapons, subject to the approval of the president, prepayment and the independent export of goods without the participation of American courts. In November 1939, under the pressure of Roosevelt was accepted The updated law on neutrality, allowing states that are at war, to acquire weapons in the United States. 

As the position of Great Britain worsened, in the summer of 1940, almost alone opposed to the Third Reich, the US president broke new agreement: 50 destroyers were transferred to the British, while the Americans in exchange received the rental of territories for 99 years on the island of Newfoundland, the Antilles and Bermuda Islands to create military bases there.

Johnson is right that representatives of the British Navy Criticized The destroyers received from the United States - they were largely outdated and very shock -absorbed. However, most of them took part in the fighting, and nine ships in 1944 Passed USSR. For the United States, land leases also turned out to be Not so necessary: ​​most of the bases created there were closed in 1949, the latter in the mid-1990s.

The victory in the 1940 presidential election strengthened the position of Roosevelt. He was able to overcome the resistance of isolationists in the Congress in order to assist the UK, whose financial and industrial resources were at the limit. December 29, 1940 Roosevelt in Radio Exaltation announced that the United States should become a arsenal of democracy in the confrontation of Hitler. By Publishing public opinionBy the next month, 68% of the Americans were ready to support the help of Great Britain in the form of borrowing or leasing property.

March 11, 1941 entered into force Lend-Lisa Lawwho allowed to sell, provide ownership, exchange, lease, borrow or otherwise transfer any defense equipment to any government in cases that the US president will consider important for national security. The possibility of exchange, renting or gratuitous support was important taking into account the financial problems of Great Britain. In one of his performances, Roosevelt figuratively described this measure: When your neighbor has a house, you will not sell him a fire hose for $ 15, you will lend him a hose to return him when he puts out a fire. 

However, in practice, as it was clear from the very beginning, we could not talk about the US to return military equipment after the war, not to mention ammunition or food products. The authorities understood that assistance should be provided in virtually free. “We buy, not to handle it in vain,” declared On the debate in the Senate, then US Minister of Defense Henry Stemson. “We buy our safety for a while, while we are preparing [to repulse Hitler].”

Initially, within the framework of the Lend-Lease of the supply, Great Britain, its dominions and colonies went. In April 1941, the law It was common On the Gomintan China, who fought against Japan, and in October - on the Soviet Union (in June, Germany attacked the USSR, and in September He joined To the Atlantic Charter - the Military Union of the United States and Great Britain, concluded in August).

The total volume of American assistance under the Lend-Lease program for all allies Compiled, according to some estimates, almost $ 50 billion (about $ 900 billion in Perenchus for modern money). First of all, military equipment was supplied, including tanks, planes, artillery and ships. However, no less, and in some areas, non-unit goods were of greater importance: vehicles (trucks and cars, jeeps, railway locomotives and wagons), industrial equipment and raw materials (for example, steel), medicines and medical materials, clothes and, of course, food. Great Britain and the rest of the British Empire Received Almost two -thirds of all American support, the USSR - more than 20%.

There was also the practice of the so-called reverse Land-Lease-supplies from allies to the United States. For example, Australia and New Zealand Supply American troops in the Pacific Ocean with food and fuel, from the USSR It was supplied Chrome and manganese ore, platinum and other metals.

In April 1945, US Congress made a decision Stop the Lend-Lease program simultaneously with the end of the war. By the decision of President Trumen delivery were stopped On August 21, when the surrender of Japan after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki became almost inevitable. Thus, the recipients of the Lend-Lease were obliged to return or redeem all the unused property located in their territories as of September 2, 1945, when the surrender of Japan was signed and the war ended.

Although the United States provided Great Britain with a discount of 90%, the British government was not able to pay under such conditions - after the war, the country's finances were in a deplorable state. Complex began negotiation With the American authorities, on which the UK was represented by economist John Meinard Keynes. As a result, by December 1945 it was reached US Credit Agreement Great Britain at $ 3.75 billion (about $ 66 billion In modern money), and from these funds London pledged to pay debts for the property unused within the framework of Lend-Lalu, which were estimated at $ 650 million.

Credit conditions There were much Softly accepted on the market: 2% per annum, the start of payments in 1950, the deadline for repayment of the debt is 50 years. Great Britain also went to a number of concessions - for example, she ceased to artificially maintain a pounding rate, which strengthened the status of the dollar as the main world currency. Later, the British authorities postponed payments several times due to an unfavorable financial situation and finally repaid the loan later than the intended deadline, December 29, 2006.

It is noteworthy that after the loan agreement, in 1948-1951, Great Britain became the largest the recipient of American assistance within the so -called Marshall's plan, which was provided to the countries of Western Europe for free, in exchange for the military-political union with the United States.

After the war, the USSR returned the United States part of the property received (mainly ships) but further negotiations were rolled out due to the outbreak of the Cold War. Only in October 1972, during the period of discharge, the parties signed A document on the settlement of Lend-Lease claims in the amount of $ 722 million (including interest), which the USSR obliged to pay by 2001, provided that it is granted the most favored nation in trade with the United States, as well as export loans and guarantees. By 1973, payments were made in the amount of $ 48 million, but then the process stopped due to cooling the relationship. In 1990 was achieved An agreement on establishing the final deadline for repayment of a Lend-Lease debt by 2030, but the process interrupted the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1992, the Russian Federation became the successor to the financial obligations of the USSR, which completely paid the Lend-Lease debt, like Great Britain, in 2006.

Thus, Johnson's statement is only partially true. Ultimately, Great Britain was forced to pay only a small part of the property received from the United States during the Second World War as part of the Lend-Lease program. However, the economic and social consequences of the war forced the British government to take a loan from the United States, which, indeed, was finally repaid only in 2006.

Photo on the cover: US National Archives / Wikimedia Commons

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