US officials seek to get Ukraine exempted from foreign aid freeze

US diplomats are frantically trying to get Ukraine-related programs exempted from a 90-day suspension on virtually all types of foreign aid imposed by the newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on January 24.

An article by the Financial Times, citing undisclosed government sources, reports that senior officials in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs have appealed to Rubio for a comprehensive waiver that would exclude the operations of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Ukraine, which took effect immediately upon being issued. 

According to the article, an email sent to USAID staff in Ukraine a day following the order has so far refrained from issuing “stop work” orders while the exemption request is under consideration. 

The temporary halt is affecting hundreds of US foreign aid contracts—worth over $70 billion in the 2022 fiscal year—in uncertainty, the biggest foreign aid contributor in the world.

As Caliber.Az recalls, Secretary Rubio has ordered a 90-day suspension of all new foreign aid disbursements while a review on their efficacy is being conducted. The order included only two exemptions, namely approved waivers for military financing to Israel and Egypt, as well as foreign emergency food aid.

The decision is in line with President Donald Trump's overall skeptic view of US military assistance to Ukraine, which he has repeatedly vowed to stop during his presidential campaign in order to encourage peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv to bring an end to the war. It also follows his broader policy of limiting US foreign involvement and re-direct funds for internal budgets, as well as introduce new channels for government revenue generation, such as the establishment of import tariffs. 

By Nazrin Sadigova