U.S. State Department terminates support for restoration of Ukraine’s energy system – NBC News
This week, the U.S. State Department terminated an initiative of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in restoring Ukraine's energy system after attacks by the Russian military.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported to NBC News by two USAID employees who work in the Agency's mission in Ukraine.
It is noted that in some regions of Ukraine, electricity was cut off during the night due to shelling of energy facilities. The country's systems have been under almost constant attack during the three-year war.
"This significantly undermines the ability of this administration to negotiate a ceasefire, and it will send a message to Russia that we don't care about Ukraine and our past investments," one USAID official involved in the Ukrainian mission told NBC News.
The official continued: "Russia is waging a bilateral war in Ukraine: Military as well as economic. They're trying to destroy the economy, but USAID is playing a central role in helping it be resilient, [including] strengthening the energy system... We have provided tremendous support to the Ukrainian government to avoid a macroeconomic crisis."
In addition to ending the Ukraine Energy Security Project, USAID is also dramatically reducing its presence in Ukraine.
Prior to the Trump administration's recent moves, 64 U.S. government employees and contractors worked in Ukraine on behalf of the agency.
After the Trump administration placed the rest of the staff on administrative leave and ordered employees not deemed "critical" to return to the United States, only eight of them will remain on the ground in the war-torn country.
Both officials warned that USAID's withdrawal from Ukraine would leave its power grid vulnerable in the dead of winter, when it would be exposed to further attacks from Russian missiles.
Both officials also argue that USAID plays a major role in ensuring that financial assistance provided to Ukraine is spent as intended.
According to a document obtained by NBC News, the State Department also ordered the termination of a program aimed at "financial sector reform activities."
"We're not going to see where that money has gone over the last few years," one official said.
