On 25 January, newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the suspension of all foreign aid, except emergency food assistance and foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt, following President Donald Trump’s previous order to suspend and review foreign aid programs.
While this suspension does not apply to military aid provided to Ukraine, as clarified by Voice of America’s correspondent Ostap Yarysh and seconded by FT reports, it does cover most humanitarian initiatives in all countries, including Ukraine.
The move, though blunt and unprecedented, did not send shockwaves. Trump has been long critical of dispersing American funds in a way that doesn’t serve the US in his “America-first” approach.
Still, Kyiv, which has been the top USAID recipient since 2022, was hit particularly hard.
In 2023, Ukraine was the top country to receive both economic and military aid worth just under $18 billion. According to official data, almost all that money, $16.6 billion, was disbursed.
Israel and Jordan, who also top the charts, received $3.3 billion and $1.68 billion each, with Israel receiving military aid exclusively while Jordan receiving both economic and military aid.
In 2024, the US obligations to Ukraine stood at just over $6 billion, with $5.7 disbursed through an array of agencies in charge of different programs. These include the Department of State, the Department of Treasury, and the US Agency for International Development.
Different projects report different situations
The funding suspension affects initiatives across Ukraine, from local government reforms to the restoration of the power grid, which Russia has systematically destroyed through missile strikes. Programs supporting veterans, media organizations, and inclusion projects have all halted operations.
Veteran_hub, a national organization supporting Ukrainian veterans, halted operations indefinitely at its center in Vinnytsya, central Ukraine, due to the suspension and appealed for private donations to maintain services.
“Our Vinnytsya center has served the military community through more than 18,750 visits and provided over 9,900 services to service members, veterans, and their families. Our support hotline, launched after Russia’s full-scale invasion, has processed over 29,000 inquiries,” their statement reads.
They also reported that 31 people lost their jobs as a result, and the rest of the team is in limbo.
A Poland-based Ukrainian researcher who is working with themes on Russian indoctrination of Ukrainian children likewise fears that she’ll likely be out of a job soon after her employer received the stop work order.
“My employers will not receive funds for January and will have to use reserve funds to pay us salaries,” she told Euromaidan Press anonymously.
The researcher added that some of her colleagues who received the stop order are inquiring about the American unemployment system and “experience applying for benefits as a humanitarian.”
However, not all USAID-funded projects appear to be affected. According to another Ukrainian employed by a large-scale USAID-funded initiative, her employer, a private company that earlier secured USAID support, did not receive a “stop work” order.
“As of today, we have not received any stop orders. Our project continues to run as usual,” she told Euromaidan Press, speaking on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorization to talk to the press.
When asked if the personnel felt panic, she answered no. No massive layoffs are planned, either, with her saying they expect salaries “for January, February, April, etc.”
All the contractors will likewise receive money for the completed work should a stop order be received after all. “Money will be available for that purpose. So, if, say, you performed work for us in January, and there’s an invoice, it’ll have to be paid.”
“To be honest, at the moment, it’s all about rumors and people scaremongering each other,” she emphasized, adding that the situation will become clearer in the coming weeks.
Ukrainian MP calls for USAID reform
Peculiarly, the suspension and audit of foreign aid were welcomed by some in Ukraine.
Among them is Servant of People MP Maryan Zablotskiy.
In his lengthy Facebook post, he criticized many USAID-funded projects, pointing out that they must not be funded by American taxpayers. These include different cultural projects, including a YouTube show, a project by Film UA, roundtables, and more.
“I am very glad that the time for change has come. I will actively communicate to ensure that the reforms Marco Rubio dreamed of are implemented. In the meantime, I will be posting reports on some of the USAID projects here so that we, too, can finally show responsibility and start asking the right questions about where the dollars have disappeared,” he wrote.
The post received mixed responses, with some praising Zablotskiy as it appears that some USAID-funded projects are perceived as pointless if not outright, murky schemes for appropriating tax money by artificially inflating prices for services and more.
The USAID employee who spoke to us on condition of anonymity was critical of Zablotskiy’s harsh words, saying that it’s wishful thinking that this money will be used for military funding instead.
“Well, if you tell Trump that you don’t need money, then you won’t receive it, and he’ll appreciate it,” she said, adding that in recent times, their project was much more picky about who they decide to fund. “We don’t have the enormous budgets like we used to, so we tightened our belt a while ago.”
Others have also been critical of Zablotskiy’s words, saying that being joyful about the suspension of aid that will affect organizations helping the vulnerable, including groups that help animals on the frontline, for example, is unempathetic.
In response, he once again took to Facebook to clarify that he supports USAID for Ukraine with “both hands” but believes an audit is necessary to eliminate the projects deemed superfluous.
“Let’s take another look at the USAID budget and think through proposals for project selection criteria (if we’re asked): what civil society truly cannot survive without, and what could disappear without anyone even noticing,” he said, adding: “Those leading teams behind significant and well-known projects that everyone has heard of will likely have their funding continued, if not increased.”
US without “Marxist equity”
The Trump administration’s decision to suspend all foreign aid is part of a larger overhaul that aims to end what it believes to be a misuse of funds and ill-placed social and political priorities.
In his inauguration speech on 20 January, Trump clarified that the next four years will be dedicated to a blunt and aggressive policy of what he calls “the Golden Age” of America. Upon his arrival at the White House, he signed a flurry of orders regarding the southern border, immigration, gender, and more.
On 28 January, CNN also reported that the federal agencies “must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance,” White House Office of Management and Budget acting director Matthew Vaeth said in the memorandum. The pause also blocks the issuance of new grants.
With no economic aid available, these projects will likely be left to their own devices in the coming weeks and months and forced to seek emergency funding from other donors or private entities. Some may even permanently shut down, especially those whose nature mismatches the current administration’s aggressive crackdown on all DEI programs in both the US and abroad.
“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” Vaeth wrote unequivocally.
Read more:
- USAID Ukraine office ordered to suspend all project funding, Suspilne says
- US suspends immigration programmes, including key initiative for Ukrainians – NYT
- Zelenskyy “no angel,” shouldn’t have allowed war, Trump says
- Trump claims Russia stole US hypersonic missile designs during Obama presidency
- Europe presses Trump to commit US troops for Ukraine peacekeeping plan, Bloomberg reports
