USAID Head Samantha Power rolled out multiple aid packages totaling hundreds of millions of dollars during a multi-day trip to Ukraine. The civilian assistance was announced as the White House prepares a $1.3 billion tranche of weapons for Kiev.
Power arrived in Kiev on Monday, revealing a new $500 million humanitarian assistance package for Ukraine. “I also would like to announce that the United States will provide more than $500 million in additional humanitarian assistance to our humanitarian partners to scale up their response on the frontlines,” she said. “This will support everything from shelter for those whose homes have been destroyed to trauma support for those who have been most affected by the war.”
On Tuesday, Power arrived in Odessa and announced another $250 million aid package directed at Ukrainian farmers. “Through its Agriculture Resilience Initiative-Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine), USAID is providing an additional $250 million to support Ukraine’s agriculture sector,” she stated.
According to the Kiel Institute, Washington has sent over $70 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded. Most of the assistance has come in the form of military support, roughly $43 billion. The White House is expected to roll out a new $1.3 billion arms package for Kiev later this week. The US has additionally provided Ukraine with nearly $25 billion in financial assistance and $4 billion in humanitarian aid.
The White House has pushed back against creating an inspector general’s office to oversee the billions in weapons and cash being transferred to Ukraine. The government in Kiev has a legacy of extreme corruption. The US inspector general for the Afghan War, John Sopko, has warned that Ukraine will be plagued with the same problems as Afghanistan if Washington does not develop appropriate oversight over the aid being sent to Kiev.
