President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze most U.S. aid to foreign countries has placed Ukrainian organizations that provide humanitarian assistance and other services in a difficult position. The Ukrainian government, civil society, and media largely rely on foreign aid.
The Veterans Center provides psychological and social support to war veterans in Ukraine and their families. The leadership says that President Trump’s administration’s order to freeze foreign aid forced them to shut down their office in the city of Vinnytsia. The central office in Kyiv continues to operate thanks to private donors.
Ivona Kostyna runs the Veterans Center. She tells VOA that the freeze on funds from Washington came as a surprise and severely impacted the project.
“The suspension of funds means a halt to our operations. It means stopping salaries and getting people back to work.”
Immediately after returning to the White House, President Trump ordered a 90-day freeze to reassess U.S. aid to foreign countries.
A statement from the U.S. State Department on the freeze of funds says: “The United States will no longer provide funds that do not bring benefits to the American people.”
The freeze on U.S. funds has shaken humanitarian organizations in Ukraine. After three years of war, the Ukrainian government, civil society, and media are largely dependent on foreign aid.
Ukrainian Bohdan Logvynenko, founder of the independent multimedia project “Ukrainer,” tells Voice of America that most of the funds for the project came from U.S. aid programs.
“We are cutting staff and reducing the level of work because there were some programs that supported us at the same time.”
He says that the freeze on U.S. funds goes beyond independent media.
“The impact is high. Media aid is a drop in the ocean. Economic support has a huge impact, and the interruption strengthens Russia’s position.”
The U.S. Agency for International Development says it has sent Ukraine over $7.6 billion in humanitarian and economic aid since the start of the war.
Denys Bihus, from the investigative media project “Bihus.info,” says that the suspension of U.S. aid will harm the public sector. His organization is concerned about the fate of state programs that relied primarily on these funds.
“Our main beneficiary is the Ukrainian state, represented by local communities or directly by the state apparatus.”
Analyst Doug Klain says that most U.S. aid aimed to strengthen the Ukrainian government and society, as well as government accountability programs.
Klain believes that activating these programs would strengthen the Trump administration’s policies and create a stronger Ukraine.
“Trump wants to force Putin to end the occupation of Ukraine and aims to achieve what he calls ‘peace through strength.’ A strong Ukraine that can maneuver is the key to this.”
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the government to prioritize the most critical programs that relied on U.S. funds and cover their needs through the national budget or alternative sources from foreign aid.
