US diplomats have requested that the 90-day foreign aid freeze set by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio be waived for Ukrainian programmes. 

Source : Financial Times

Details : According to documents seen by the Financial Times, senior diplomats at the State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs have asked Rubio to exclude the work of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Ukraine from the wide-ranging directive, which came into effect on 25 January. 

The request is currently under review, but Washington is sending positive signals, according to an email to USAID staff in Ukraine seen by the FT. 

"We do not know at this time whether this request will be approved — in whole or in part — but there are positive signals thus far out of Washington," the email says.

In the meantime, USAID in Ukraine temporarily suspended the execution of the stop-work orders, pending a response on the exception.

However, by the evening of Saturday, 25 January, some organisations began receiving orders to stop operations. One such order, as reported by the Financial Times, required the contractor to immediately stop all work on the contract until written permission to resume was received.

The programme director of one NGO said that the freeze could be a "disaster" for projects supporting schools, hospitals and energy infrastructure in Ukraine.

Quote from the Financial Times : "A Ukrainian government official with knowledge of the matter confirmed to the FT that US military assistance did not fall under the freeze order. ‘Military aid to Ukraine is intact,’ the official said. ‘At least as of now, and it is certainly not part of this 90-day freeze.’"

Background:

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an order suspending funding for most foreign aid programmes, including support for Ukraine, for 90 days.
• The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that it was exploring the implications of the order for US assistance to Kyiv.
• Speaking at a press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that US military assistance to Ukraine has not been suspended.
• On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order suspending all foreign aid programmes for 90 days to determine whether they meet his political goals.

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