Ukraine reels from ‘worst-case scenario’ suspension of US foreign aid
Ukraine reels from ‘worst-case scenario’ suspension of US foreign aid
Share:
USAid pause affects projects such as veteran rehabilitation, independent media and humanitarian assistance. Ukraine is reeling from the shock decision by the Trump administration to pause all US foreign aid programmes immediately, as a variety of projects in the country – from military veteran rehabilitation programmes to independent media and anti-corruption initiatives – have effectively been stopped overnight.
![[Paratroopers assist USAID with delivery of humanitarian assistance itemsIn this image provided by the U.S. Army, paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, assist with unloading humanitarian goods in support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in preparation of potential evacuees from Ukraine at the G2A Arena in Jasionka, Poland, on Feb. 25, 2022. (Sgt. Robert Whitlow/U.S. Army via AP)]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b19409f1205e5ac3da42c80f31c1ed27d3044e80/0_229_3756_2254/master/3756.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
It was seen as inevitable that the incoming administration would overhaul USAid, the US development agency, but there was an expectation that spending on Ukraine, or at least some of the most critical programmes, would be subject to a waiver – or there would at least be a winding-down period.
![[A boy looks out of a damaged window; most of the windows in a block have been blown out with some covered by plastic, and the front of the building has lost some of its iron cladding]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c6905484a569864d6a85f925873ae92494205fce/246_0_3609_2166/master/3609.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Instead, a “stop-work” order issued last Friday has left hundreds of projects without funding, initially for a 90-day review period. Attempts by the Kyiv USAid office to save funding for some of the most important programmes have reportedly been rebuffed in Washington.
“They requested a waiver for some of the things they considered critical but didn’t get it,” said a source familiar with discussions over the future of USAid in Ukraine. “It’s clear that the new administration wants to destroy what was there before and build something completely new.”.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said his government would prioritise the most important USAid-funded programmes and try to cover them with alternative funding solutions. “There are programmes like those for prosthetic limbs, or those on special rehabilitation, which obviously can’t just be ended abruptly. There will be a prioritisation,” said Zelenskyy’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak in an interview on Wednesday.
