WASHINGTON, March 18. /TASS/. The Office of the Inspector General of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has uncovered violations concerning reporting on the provision of $26 billion in aid to Ukraine, Deputy Inspector General Adam Kaplan has stated.

"In Ukraine, contractors, USAID, hired to oversee its $26 billion in direct budget support, failed to provide required reports on time or at all," he noted during hearings in the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the US Congress. The hearings were dedicated to violations in the provision of US assistance to other countries, including through the aforementioned agency.

Kaplan noted that the Washington administration had previously sent auditors "to eight countries, including Ukraine" to account for previously provided aid. Kaplan clarified that the Agency's Inspector General office employs full-time criminal investigators who are based in Kiev and are "investigating fraud and corruption involving non security US foreign assistance to Ukraine." He did not provide details about these cases.

On February 3, the administration of US President Donald Trump effectively suspended USAID activities, which were used to implement US foreign policy and exert influence over other countries. On March 10, US State Secretary Marco Rubio, appointed interim head of USAID, announced that the government had terminated 83% of the agency’s programs following a review. At the end of August, the New York Post reported that the US administration intended to cut foreign aid by another $5 billion, $3.2 billion of which was earmarked for USAID and would be returned to the US budget.