State Department scrambles to secure Ukraine aid amid freeze
American officials at the State Department are striving to maintain aid to Ukraine despite the announcement of a freeze on foreign aid by the new Secretary of State, reports the "Financial Times." It remains unclear what impact this decision will have.
High-ranking 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 programs, but Ukraine was not included.
The "Financial Times" reports that without this exclusion, support programs for schools, hospitals, and energy infrastructure may be halted. As of Friday, organizations and agencies involved in support efforts in Kyiv received orders to cease operations.
They talk about significant chaos, greater than usual
The decision to freeze foreign aid results from 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 program 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" emphasizes that the situation is dynamic and uncertain.
According to information from the Kyiv Indepndent, some centers 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.
