Zelensky Loses All of US Money

US Halts Military and Economic Support for Ukraine

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order suspending military and economic aid to Ukraine.

Upon taking office, the president ordered a 90-day suspension of foreign assistance programs to allow for a reassessment of their alignment with US foreign policy. The signing of this order effectively freezes funding for Ukraine.

"It is the policy of United States that no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States," the order reads.

The new directive from Washington will also affect economic assistance to Kyiv, though some budgetary support for Ukraine will continue. However, the order does not apply to Israel and Egypt – these two countries will continue receiving "emergency food aid" from the US. 

Ukrainian President Zelensky said that "many projects" were suspended due to the freeze in US aid.

Suspension of US Aid Prevents Ukraine from Purchasing US Weapons

The funding freeze will block Kyiv's ability to procure American-made weapons, The Wall Street Journal said.

Due to the role of the US State Department in overseeing arms transfers, the aid suspension is expected to halt funding allocated for both Taiwan and Ukraine to purchase American weapons.

In addition, the cessation of support has impacted the operations of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) office in Kyiv. The State Department has ordered a suspension of all projects and associated expenditures. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that USAID operations would only resume after a thorough review of grant allocations.

Without US Funding, Ukrainian Officials Will Lose Salaries

The suspension of US-funded civilian programs means Ukrainian government officials could soon find themselves without salaries.

While most of Ukraine's military aid comes through the Pentagon – including arms shipments and contract payments – civilian programs, including salary payments for Ukrainian government employees, fall under the jurisdiction of the State Department.

The immediate freeze in funding has now put Kyiv's leadership in financial jeopardy. Bradley Bowman, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, noted that Ukraine's only viable option is to turn to Europe for support, hoping that EU nations will at least "attempt to shoulder a larger share, if not the entirety, of this burden."

Italy Continues Support for Ukraine

Italy will continue supplying military aid to Ukraine in 2025, Ansa reports.   

"The lower house of the Italian parliament has officially approved a decree regarding Ukraine, authorizing the extension of arms deliveries to Kyiv until December 31, 2025. This measure, already approved by the Senate, was passed with 192 votes in favor and 41 against," the report said.

90 Percent of Ukrainian Media Depend on Grants

It is worthy of note that almost 90 percent of Ukrainian media have survived on grants since the start of the special military operation, Oksana Romaniuk, director of the Institute of Mass Information said. 

According to her, this is due to the collapse of Ukraine’s advertising market, particularly in the online media sector, which has declined by 92 percent.  

She also suggested that 80 percent or more of Ukrainian media outlets had cooperated with the US Agency for International Development. A number of Ukrainian media outlets, including Hromadske and Bihus Info, started asking for donations after Trump announced the suspension of all US foreign aid programs for 90 days.

Details

The list of known military aid provided or promised to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian conflict includes weaponry, equipment, training, logistical support as well as financial support, unless earmarked for humanitarian purposes. Weapons sent as a result of cooperation between multiple countries are listed separately under each country. The aid has mostly been co-ordinated through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, whose 57 member countries include all 32 member states of NATO. The European Union co-ordinated weapons supplies through its institutions for the first time. Because of the invasion, some donor countries, such as Germany and Sweden, overturned policies against providing offensive military aid. By March 2024, mostly Western governments had pledged more than $380 billion worth of aid to Ukraine since the invasion, including nearly $118 billion in direct military aid from individual countries. European countries have provided the most aid in total (military, financial and humanitarian), while the United States has by far provided the most military aid. Most of the US funding supports American industries who produce weapons and military equipment.

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Author`s name Andrey Mihayloff
Editor Dmitry Sudakov
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