USAID is committed to helping Ukraine win the war against the Kremlin's aggression and, ultimately, win the peace by emerging strong and capable of continuing to advance as a sovereign, independent, democratic, and prosperous society free to choose its own future. Since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, USAID has focused on meeting Ukraine's urgent needs, while maintaining support for long-term development goals: helping Ukraine maintain a well-functioning state with strong institutions free of corruption; fostering a vibrant, inclusive economy, a free press and robust civil society; encouraging greater citizen engagement in civic activities and democratic processes; and helping build a health system that is transparent, efficient, and responsive to the needs of the Ukrainian people.
To help meet Ukraine's wartime needs and lay the foundation for a successful recovery, USAID has provided $13 billion in direct budget support, helping the Government of Ukraine (GoU) fund basic public services like healthcare, education, and emergency response; $1.4 billion in humanitarian assistance to save lives and meet the urgent needs of the Ukrainian people; and over $800 million in development assistance to bolster Ukraine's energy grid, governance institutions, agriculture, small businesses, and civil society in wartime, while also remaining focused on what will be needed for recovery and reconstruction.
During the past year, we invested in Ukraine's economy and prepared it to recover from the Kremlin's ruthless attacks. We helped repair the country's energy and heating systems to counter Putin's attempts to wield the harsh winter as a weapon against the people of Ukraine. We supported Ukraine's government to continue delivering critical public services, pay its civil service, and provide emergency relief to the people most in need. We rapidly expanded our work in health to protect the public health system from the deadly consequences of Russia's war, and supported Ukraine's health institutions to restore services while advancing progress on critical reforms. And we continue to bolster Ukrainian efforts to fight corruption at every level to build public trust, maintain donor support, attract private sector investment, safeguard the country's institutions, and speed up its integration with its European neighbors.
ASSISTANCE TIMELINE - KEY INFLECTION POINTS
- On February 24, 2022, the same day that Russia launched its invasion, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to lead the U.S. humanitarian response to Ukraine. Based in Poland with a presence in Ukraine, the DART continues to provide lifesaving aid to people in need across Ukraine.
- On February 26, 2022, Administrator Power visited Poland to meet Polish government officials, the U.S. Ambassador to Poland, the USAID DART, and members of the Ukrainian diaspora to outline the United States' humanitarian response to the crisis in Ukraine caused by Russia's invasion. Administrator Power also visited Brussels at the end of the month to meet with EU officials to discuss the U.S. government's coordinated response with European partners to help address Ukraine's emerging needs.
- Immediately after the invasion, USAID urgently shifted our assistance to meet Ukraine's needs. All 40+ development assistance programs continued operating, and about 700 of our implementing partner staff remained in Ukraine to continue working. These development programs pivoted their support to respond to the emergency situation on the ground.
- During the last week of February 2022, we delivered 644 satellite photos and 250 internet data terminals to the Government of Ukraine (GoU) and critical infrastructure operators. This vital cybersecurity support helped the GoU secure its communications networks.
Only weeks into the war, Putin's armed forces became increasingly brutal. The massacre in Bucha in March indicated the kind of war Russia intended to fight against Ukraine. USAID continued to adapt and expand our assistance to meet the emerging humanitarian challenge. While the DART ramped up humanitarian programs to meet changing needs, USAID's other early interventions were aimed at helping stabilize key institutions so that Ukraine's government could continue to function.
- At the beginning of March 2022, USAID delivered the first shipment of flak jackets and helmets to reporters and media organizations so that they could report on the terrible impacts of the war and the atrocities being committed by Russia's armed forces. During the past year, we have delivered more than 1,800 sets of helmets and flak jackets for journalists.
- On March 16, 2022, Ukraine successfully synchronized with the European energy grid, as a result of long term USAID support, increasing its energy security in the face of Kremlin attacks. Since then, USAID has helped Ukraine's Ministry of Energy and the country's electricity and gas Transmission Service Operators to ensure continuous flow of power and gas during the war, and to use remote imagery to identify damage to critical energy transmission infrastructure.
- In March 2022, USAID anticipated the impact of Russia's war in Ukraine on national and global food security, and began delivering assistance to Ukraine's farmers so they could plant spring crops despite the devastation and instability caused by the war. Over the past year, USAID has provided seeds, fertilizers, and other assistance to more than 13,600 farmers across Ukraine, or nearly 30 percent of the country's registered agriculture enterprises.
- In March 2022, USAID rapidly expanded support for Ukraine's public health supply chain systems, enabling Ukraine to transparently and efficiently receive, distribute and account for more than $400 million in medicines and supplies donated from around the world during the first six months of the war, helping to sustain access to lifesaving medicines.
By the late spring, the war showed no signs of letting up. USAID continued to push assistance to the communities and sectors hit hardest by Russia's attacks while underpinning the work of the Government of Ukraine (GoU). During this time, USAID also provided immediate assistance -- including life-saving HIV and tuberculosis medical assistance -- to newly liberated areas of Chernihiv and Zhytomyr.
- In April 2022, USAID provided the first tranche of U.S. direct budget support to the GoU. Since then, we have provided a total of $13 billion in budget support. This funding has helped the GoU pay the salaries of 618,000 educators, 517,000 health workers, and 56,500 first responders. It has also helped the GoU to sustain critical healthcare services, meet its pension responsibilities for 9.8 million people, assist 1.3 million internally displaced persons, provide housing assistance to 4.1 million people, and provide social assistance to 240,000 low-income families and 480,000 persons with disabilities.
- In April 2022, USAID delivered 5,000 Starlink terminals to the GOUthrough a partnership with SpaceX. The Starlink satellite terminals provide internet connectivity to citizens, government officials, and critical infrastructure operators.
- During the spring, we launched grant programs to help Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses continue operating and creating jobs. This included helping businesses relocate away from the frontlines to safer parts of the country. Since the full-scale invasion, USAID has supported more than 4,200 small Ukrainian businesses in the manufacturing, information technology (IT), and agricultural sectors, helping Ukraine create or retain more than 47,000 jobs.
As summer came to Ukraine, USAID assistance pivoted again, this time to address two key strategic issues that would significantly impact the country's economic and physical survival for the rest of the year: its position as the breadbasket of the world, and its ability to withstand the impacts of the coming winter.
- In July 2022, we expanded our agriculture assistance by launching the AGRI-Ukraine initiative, a $100 million initiative to support Ukraine's agriculture sector, whereby USAID partners worked with the private sector to help farmers store, transport, and export their harvests despite wartime conditions.
- During the summer, USAID started delivering large quantities of generators to communities across Ukraine to start preparing for both heat and power outages in the coming winter. Since those early deliveries, USAID has delivered more than 1,750 generators across Ukraine, helping provide power to vital services from schools, hospitals, and accommodation centers for IDPs to drinking water systems and district heating companies.
As summer turned to fall, it became evident that Russia's forces would start to use the falling temperatures as a weapon of war. The Russian military expanded their strikes on Ukraine's critical infrastructure, disabling power systems and district heating networks, and leaving whole neighborhoods without heat, power, or water. In total, USAID is providing Ukraine with roughly $400 million in winter-related assistance-including energy repair recruitment, generators, and humanitarian items like winter clothing-ensuring that Ukrainians have access to heat, hot water, electricity, healthcare, and basic supplies this winter.
- During the fall of 2022, USAID started delivering large quantities of energy repair equipment to enable Ukrainian energy supply companies to rapidly restore damage caused by Russia's targeted strikes.
- This started with heating pipes for Kyiv's main heating utility to restore heat and hot water to about 22,000 residents who had lost access due to Russia's strikes. USAID later sent more heating pipes to Ukraine (16 kilometers delivered so far), and have more on the way. USAID also delivered nearly 1,500 shut-off valves to repair heating pipes.
- USAID delivered 60 excavators to repair heating infrastructure in 48 cities.
- Our local governance activities delivered 250 large tents to local governments in 25 communities to help set up communal heating points.
- As Ukraine's armed forces began to turn the tide on the battlefield, liberating large swathes of territory in Kharkiv region in September and Kherson region in November, USAID rushed assistance to people liberated from Russia's occupation. USAID brought in humanitarian supplies including food, water, and clothing, power generators, and support to get local governments up and running again after the occupation. For example:
- USAID has delivered more than 150 generators to provide electricity and heating to liberated communities in Kherson.
- USAID's Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance partners have delivered food, medicines, and safe drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people in Kherson.
- USAID supported the Ministry of Health to rapidly distribute medicines and supplies to Kherson starting on November 14 - including essential medicines, from antibiotics and painkillers to drugs for allergies, oncology, and cardiovascular conditions-and medical devices and equipment like oxygen concentrators, ultrasound machines, surgery kits, and childcare kits.
As winter approached, the Kremlin focused its fire on critical infrastructure, including Ukraine's electricity and heating systems. USAID ramped up deliveries of energy repair equipment and generators and delivered heaters, fuel, and blankets to help Ukrainians survive the harsh winter. We continued to invest in long-term development programming aimed at laying the groundwork for Ukraine's robust recovery from the war.
- In November 2022, USAID partnered with the U.S. Development Finance Corporation to offer a $15 million, 10-year loan portfolio guarantee with Bank Lviv. This guarantee provides much-needed access to finance for micro, small, and medium sized businesses in the region who will help restart Ukraine's economy and provide needed jobs for the Ukrainian people.
- In late 2022, USAID delivered 60 excavators to repair and maintain heating pipes in 48 Ukrainian cities, including in areas where infrastructure has been severely damaged by Russia's strikes.
- In February 2023, USAID delivered a 28 megawatt (MW) mobile power generator large enough to power more than 100,000 Ukrainian homes at any given time; 12 transformers to restore the operations of four electricity substations in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions; and over 46 kilometers of steel heating pipes to restore damaged heating systems in 23 cities across Ukraine.
