USAID staff responsible for projects in Ukraine have been ordered to halt all work.
The US State Department on Friday, January 24, issued an order to “halt” all existing and new foreign aid programs, in accordance with an order from President Donald Trump.
Reuters reports this, citing a State Department memo that journalists were able to review.
The document, compiled by the Department's Bureau of Foreign Assistance and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, states that exceptions are made only for military funding for Israel and Egypt. No other countries are mentioned in the memo.
A source familiar with the congressional deliberations claims that Trump's order is illegal.
“Freezing these international investments will force our international partners to look for other funding partners – potential competitors and adversaries of the United States – to fill this hole. The longer this illegal blocking of funds continues, the more the influence of the United States will be undermined,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
Another anonymous source, a former senior official at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), called the consequences of Trump's order to stop international aid “provoked chaos.”
“Organizations will have to stop all activities, including all vital health services, HIV/AIDS assistance, nutrition, maternal and child health, all agricultural work, all support for civil society organizations and education,” he stressed.
Another USAID official, who also wished to remain anonymous, said that employees responsible for projects in Ukraine were ordered to stop all work. Among the frozen projects are support for schools and assistance in the field of health.
Recall that the Pentagon explained that Trump's order does not apply to military assistance allocated to Ukraine by the Biden administration.
Related topics:
More news
