NewsState department officials push for Ukraine aid amid freeze

State department officials push for Ukraine aid amid freeze

American officials at the State Department are endeavouring to continue aid to Ukraine despite the recent announcement of a freeze on foreign aid by the new Secretary of State, reports the "Financial Times." The impact of this decision remains unclear.

What will the issue of aid to Ukraine look like going forward?
What will the issue of aid to Ukraine look like going forward?
Images source: © PAP

Senior diplomats in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs have appealed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to exclude support for Ukraine from the memorandum suspending foreign aid for 90 days, issued by him on Friday. Rubio has already made exceptions for Israel and Egypt, as well as emergency food programmes, but Ukraine was not included.

The "Financial Times" reports that without this exclusion, support programmes for schools, hospitals, and energy infrastructure may be halted. On Friday, organisations and agencies involved in providing support in Kyiv received orders to stop work.

They talk about significant chaos, greater than usual

The decision to freeze foreign aid is the result of an executive order by President Donald Trump. Initially, Politico and Reuters reported that the decision would affect all support for Ukraine, including military aid. However, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that military aid has not been stopped.

The Ukrainian edition of Voice of America reported that the FMF programme is subject to suspension, but the main military support channels, such as the Presidential Drawdown Authority (transfer of equipment from U.S. resources) and the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (purchase of equipment for Ukraine from arms manufacturers), have not been affected. The "Financial Times" emphasises that the situation is dynamic and uncertain.

According to information from the Kyiv Indepndent, some centres providing support and information to Ukraine based on government contracts received orders to stop work. Daniel Fried, a former diplomat and expert at the Atlantic Council, notes that a change in government often comes with initial chaos, but this time it is greater than usual.

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