WASHINGTON, February 5. /TASS/. The United States has transferred $35 billion to Ukraine since 2022 through the Agency for International Development (USAID), which is in the process of liquidation, the Defense One news outlet reported, citing USAID data.
According to Defense One, the agency "does not and cannot provide direct military support to Ukraine," but the proximity of some Ukrainian medical facilities to the front line means that "the country’s civilian and military healthcare systems overlap significantly." Thus, according to the news outlet, by supporting Ukraine's civilian healthcare system, USAID "indirectly supports the country’s fight against Russia." In addition, Defense One quoted a senior US administration official as saying that USAID "has been an essential part of the effort to account for US weapons and other aid to Ukraine."
Since the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, USAID has provided Kiev with "$35 billion in development assistance," the news outlet pointed out. At the same time, it emphasized that the agency also played an important role in providing Ukraine with a $20 billion loan at the expense of future proceeds from frozen Russian sovereign assets.
On February 3, the US administration effectively suspended the activities of USAID. By decision of US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was appointed as the temporary head of this agency. USAID was suspended at the suggestion of billionaire US businessman Elon Musk, whom Trump had previously appointed to head the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to improve the US government, reduce the bloated state apparatus and fight bureaucracy.
The Republican Trump administration's actions regarding USAID, which has been one of the tools of Washington's foreign policy and US influence in other countries, have already caused a storm of protest among members of the Democratic Party. USAID is formally an independent agency, but in reality it works within the structure of the US State Department.
In the fall of 2024, the leaders of the G7 countries adopted a joint statement announcing that they had agreed on the details of a $50 billion loan to Ukraine at the expense of future revenues from frozen Russian state assets. At the same time, the US pledged to provide $20 billion to Ukraine, with the remaining $30 billion to be channeled through the combined efforts of the G7 and the EU. Last December, Kiev received the first $1 billion in U.S. funds from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. On January 10, the EU transferred the first tranche of 3 billion euros in Russian assets to Ukraine. In this connection, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the transfer of funds to Ukraine from the proceeds of Russian assets frozen by the West could become a reason for legal prosecution in the future.