US diplomats have urgently requested that Ukraine-related programs be exempted from a 90-day freeze on foreign aid ordered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as concerns grow over the potential impact on vital support for Ukraine.
US diplomats have urgently requested an exemption for Ukraine-related programs from a 90-day freeze on foreign aid and “stop work” orders issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to documents reviewed by the Financial Times and sources familiar with the matter.
Citing national security concerns, senior diplomats from the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs have asked Rubio to grant a full waiver for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) programs in Ukraine, excluding them from the sweeping directive that took effect immediately after being issued on Friday.
“We do not know at this time whether this request will be approved — in whole or in part — but there are positive signals so far from Washington,” said an email sent to USAID staff in Ukraine on Saturday, reviewed by the FT.
USAID in Ukraine has temporarily halted issuing "stop work" orders while the exemption request is being considered, according to the email and officials from partner organizations. The agency has also asked staff to evaluate programs and explore ways to align them more closely with the secretary’s directive to enhance US safety, strength, and prosperity.
However, by Saturday evening in Kyiv, some organizations began receiving "stop work" orders. One shared order directed a contractor to immediately cease work under a USAID/Ukraine contract, stating that work would not resume until written notification from the Contracting Officer.
The State Department, USAID, and the US embassy in Kyiv did not respond to requests for comment.
In an internal cable sent to the State Department and USAID on Friday, Rubio instructed the suspension of all new foreign aid disbursements. Contracting and grant officers were directed to immediately issue stop work orders until the secretary completes a review, which could take up to 85 days. This leaves the fate of hundreds of US foreign aid contracts, worth over $70bn in the 2022 fiscal year, uncertain.
Officials and NGO staff in Ukraine, where the war with Russia will enter its fourth year next month, have warned that without a waiver, vital programs such as support for schools, hospitals, and infrastructure development could be at risk.
A program director at an NGO in Kyiv described the funding freeze as a potential “disaster” for their group and Ukraine.
While there are exceptions to Rubio’s order, such as military aid for Israel and Egypt, no exemption for Ukraine is mentioned in the cable. However, a Ukrainian government official confirmed to the FT that US military assistance is not part of the freeze order. "Military aid to Ukraine is intact," the official said.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that American arms continue to flow into Ukraine, with no interruption in military aid.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the US has provided $65.9bn in military assistance to Kyiv, according to State Department data.
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How do political narratives travel from Moscow to Westminster?
The Kremlin is utilising the recent United States and Israeli military strikes on Iran to validate its ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian officials are pointing to the escalation in the Middle East as evidence that Western nations do not adhere to international rules.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved an $8.1 billion, four-year Extended Fund Facility programme for Ukraine on Thursday, aimed at preserving macroeconomic and financial stability as the war with Russia continues into its fifth year.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday (26 February) accused Ukraine of threatening Europe’s energy security by halting oil flows through the Druzhba oil pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters as the Iranian conflcit entered its fifth day on Wednesday.
The U.S. embassy in Riyadh was hit by two drones resulting in a limited fire and some material damage, the kingdom's defence ministry said in a post on X on Tuesday, citing an initial assessment.
Shahid Motahari Sub-Speciality Hospital in northern Tehran and parts of the Golestan Palace were bombed on day two of the U.S.‑Israel strikes. AnewZ Touraj Shiralilou is in Iran's capital city and said that the facility was flattened in an airstrike.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is making gains in its conflict with Iran after a key Iranian naval target was destroyed, confirming that the strike was carried out by a U.S. submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka. Rescue efforts are now under way for the ship’s crew.
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The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
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