President Donald Trump's decision to freeze most U.S. aid to foreign countries has put Ukrainian organizations that provide humanitarian aid and other services in a difficult position. As VOA journalists Myroslava Gongadze in Warsaw and Anna Chernikova in Kiev report, the Ukrainian government, civil society and media are largely dependent on foreign aid.
The Veterans Center provides psychological and social support to veterans of the war in Ukraine and their families. Leaders say the Trump administration's order to freeze aid to foreign countries forced them to close the office in the city of Vinnytsia. The central office in Kiev continues to operate thanks to private donors.
Ivona Kostyna, who heads the Veterans Center, told VOA that the freeze on funding from Washington was unexpected and hit the project hard.
"Stopping funding means stopping our operations. It means stopping salaries and putting people back to work."
Shortly after returning to the White House, President Trump ordered a 90-day freeze to reassess U.S. aid to foreign countries. The White House did not respond to a VOA request for comment on the aid to Ukraine.
A State Department statement on the freeze of funds says: "The United States will no longer provide funds that do not benefit the American people."
The freeze of US funding has shaken humanitarian organizations in Ukraine. After three years of war, the Ukrainian government, civil society and media depend largely on foreign aid.
Ukrainian Bohdan Logvynenko, founder of the independent multimedia project "Ukrainer," tells Voice of America that most of the funding for the project came from American aid programs.
"We are laying off employees and reducing the workload as there were several programs supporting us at the same time."
He says the freezing of US funds goes beyond independent media.
"The impact is high. Aid to the media is a drop in the ocean. Economic support has a huge impact and the cutoff strengthens Russia's position."
The US aid agency says it has sent more than $7.6 billion in humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine since the war began.
Denys Bihus, with the investigative media project "Bihus.info," says that the cessation of American aid will harm the public sector. His organization is concerned about the fate of state programs that relied heavily on these funds.
"Our main beneficiary is the Ukrainian state, represented by local communities or directly by the state apparatus."
Analyst Doug Klain says that most of the American aid was intended to keep the Ukrainian government and society strong, as well as programs for government accountability.
Mr. Klein believes that activating the programs would strengthen the policies of President Trump's administration and create a stronger Ukraine.
"Trump wants to force Putin to end his invasion of Ukraine and aims to achieve what he calls 'peace through strength.' A strong Ukraine that can maneuver is key to that."
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the government to prioritize the most critical programs that relied on US funds and cover their needs through the national budget or alternative sources of foreign aid./ Voice of America (A2 Televizion)
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