{"id":226407,"date":"2025-01-28T22:26:18","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T22:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/28\/many-ukrainian-aid-groups-stop-work-after-trumps-halt-on-foreign-assistance\/"},"modified":"2025-01-28T22:26:18","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T22:26:18","slug":"many-ukrainian-aid-groups-stop-work-after-trumps-halt-on-foreign-assistance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/28\/many-ukrainian-aid-groups-stop-work-after-trumps-halt-on-foreign-assistance\/","title":{"rendered":"Many Ukrainian Aid Groups Stop Work After Trump\u2019s Halt on Foreign Assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/28\/multimedia\/28ukraine-usaid-02-tvmf\/28ukraine-usaid-02-tvmf-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Many Ukrainian Aid Groups Stop Work After Trump\u2019s Halt on Foreign Assistance\" title=\"Many Ukrainian Aid Groups Stop Work After Trump\u2019s Halt on Foreign Assistance\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A week after the Trump administration abruptly ordered a sweeping halt to U.S. foreign development aid, the effect is already being felt in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/news-event\/ukraine-russia\" title=\"\">war-torn Ukraine<\/a>. Several humanitarian organizations say they have been forced to suspend operations, including assistance to war veterans and internally displaced people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The orders, which were issued while the Trump administration conducts a 90-day audit of foreign aid, have sent a chill through humanitarian organizations in Ukraine, which depend heavily on such assistance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The United States, the largest single source of aid to Ukraine, has provided more than $37 billion in humanitarian aid, development assistance and direct budget support since the beginning of the war nearly three years ago through its <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usaid.gov\/ukraine#:~:text=Since%20the%20start%20of%20the,billion%20in%20direct%20budget%20support\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Agency for International Development<\/a>, also known as U.S.A.I.D.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Yuriy Boyechko, the founder and chief executive of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/hfu.org\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Hope for Ukraine<\/a>, which works with U.S.-funded Ukrainian groups to supply firewood to frontline residents, said the impact of the halt in funding would be immediate. Deliveries will stop suddenly, he said, leaving people on their own in the middle of winter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey\u2019re going to feel the effect of this next week,\u201d Mr. Boyechko said in an interview. \u201cThis is just extremely harmful because you have millions of people in frontline areas near Kherson and Kharkiv who have been living without light for a long time. For them, firewood has been the only source of heat and a way to prepare food.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ivona Kostyna, chairwoman of Veteran Hub, an organization that supports veterans and their families, said that the organization had already stopped two major programs: one that liaises with Ukrainian employers on employment policies for veterans, and another that provides space for veterans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt is on pause, but in fact for us, 90 days of pause means losing our team, our space, our clients\u2019 trust,\u201d she said. The sudden stop in funding \u201cundermines the reliability of the partnership,\u201d Ms. Kostyna said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 set off by some accounts the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, European nations shouldered most of the burden of taking in refugees who fled Ukraine. The United States, for its part, helped to limit the flow of refugees by funding humanitarian programs that assisted internally displaced people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A U.S.A.I.D spokesperson in Washington confirmed on Tuesday to The New York Times that all programs and grants without a waiver approved by the secretary of state had been paused for 90 days, while the audit is continuing. The U.S. State Department said in a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/implementing-the-presidents-executive-order-on-reevaluating-and-realigning-united-states-foreign-aid\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">statement<\/a> that the aid freeze was justified by the need to \u201crefocus on American national interests\u201d and that it would no longer \u201cblindly dole out money with no return for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">American officials at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine requested exemptions to preserve aid for the country, according to Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a Ukrainian lawmaker. <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/e122fb95-ae23-4c82-80c8-c8904724131e\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Financial Times<\/a> first reported the request. In an interview, Mr. Yurchyshyn said discussions about granting waivers for Ukrainian assistance were continuing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He expressed concern that programs providing emergency food aid would have to pause operations, even though they have been exempted globally from the orders. The funding \u201creduces pressure on migration,\u201d he said, as people can remain in their towns when schools and municipal services like water and natural gas operate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The aid agency has funded water system repairs and repairs for schools damaged by Russian artillery shelling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Continuing the aid, Mr. Yurchyshyn said, will also counter \u201cthe narrative of totalitarian countries that democracies are unstable partners, and you can never be sure democracies will help you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For now, however, most aid appears to have been halted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">An email from the State Department to one group, dated Jan. 24 and viewed by The New York Times, said that \u201call foreign assistance awards are immediately suspended\u201d and that the group \u201cmust stop all work on the program and not incur any new costs\u201d after Jan. 24. The group was instructed to cancel as many outstanding obligations as possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Trump administration\u2019s threat to indefinitely cut all aid also has some groups fearing retribution if they speak out against the freeze.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In an email seen by The Times, ACTED, a major French organization operating in Ukraine and partly funded by the United States, instructed a Ukrainian partner group to \u201cstop\/suspend all work until further notice.\u201d It added that the group should not \u201ccommunicate and comment publicly,\u201d warning that \u201corganizations may be subject to sanctions globally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A manager from the Ukrainian partner group, speaking anonymously due to concerns about retaliation, said the directive would force her to lay off nearly 100 employees immediately and not pay their salaries, which are due by the end of the month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The head of a separate Ukrainian organization, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said it had been asked to suspend the development of new projects and rethink portfolios so that no activities related to gender or gay rights issues were listed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ukraine also has numerous media projects that survive on grants, allowing them to stay independent. Dozens of media organizations in Ukraine are now calling for support.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Bogdan Logvynenko, a founder at Ukrainer, which publishes articles about Ukraine in foreign languages, said he did not expect that financing from the United States would resume after the 90-day audit was completed. \u201cOur only chance is ourselves,\u201d he says in a plea for public donations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ukrainian independent media currently receive more than by 80 percent of their funding from the United States, Mr. Logvynenko said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Not all groups appear to have been notified that they should halt operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Oksana Kuiantseva, a board member at the charity foundation East SOS, said that the organization had not received any notice of suspension. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Most groups interviewed expressed growing concern. \u201cThe situation shows how close big geopolitics can be,\u201d said Lesyk Yakymchuk, director of Linza, a nongovernmental group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">An election in another country can halt, for example, an online learning program for children in Ukraine, he said. \u201cSuch is the obvious dependence and influence on our small lives on this big game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Andrew E. Kramer<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/28\/world\/europe\/ukraine-trump-aid-freeze.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A week after the Trump administration abruptly ordered a sweeping halt to U.S. foreign development aid, the effect is already being felt in war-torn Ukraine. Several humanitarian organizations say they have been forced to suspend operations, including assistance to war veterans and internally displaced people. The orders, which were issued while the Trump administration conducts [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/01\/28\/multimedia\/28ukraine-usaid-02-tvmf\/28ukraine-usaid-02-tvmf-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[41,14982,163575,33,164576,726,13882,137131,759,52,1734,1130,9292,1021,163847,128437,1396],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226407"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226407"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":226409,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226407\/revisions\/226409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}