Freezing of Grants from USAID. The Deputy Explained Why This is Necessary, Social Media Reacted.

The Ukrainian Deputy Marjan Zablotskyj published a report on the USAID projects funded by the USA. He stated that he supports stopping the funding and reviewing these projects. He wrote this on social media.

According to Zablotskyj, there are currently 112 active USAID projects in Ukraine worth 7 billion dollars, spread over years. But the Deputy emphasized that all these projects have problems.

“The biggest problem: almost all reduce to fruitless round-table discussions and conferences, which is why they are senseless and absurd. Second problem: the majority of this money remains in the USA as pure profit for the private companies that implement these grants. To finally achieve change, I am starting to publish reports on these projects. Here is a striking example: 297 million dollars for communication within three years. Who in the cultural scene knows that such an amount was allocated for a film for which you could actually shoot 'Avatar 3'? We know that the Russians allocate a similar amount from the state budget for their film industry, but I think they will not spend as much on propaganda as we do,” wrote the Deputy.

So among the projects funded by the USA in the first half of 2024 were:

• Support for the creation of a YouTube talk show titled “Ebauth”;
• Support for the music group TVORCHI in creating songs and performances in selected cities of Ukraine;
• The NGO 'Zmini', known as Don't Take Fake (DTF), an influential player and supporter of the electronic music scene with prior experience in organizing large cultural events, including the first camp for electronic musicians, Mirage Camp;
• Support for the company Film UA in producing a documentary titled “Dough”. At the same Time, investigations and meetings with the series creators' team were conducted, as well as a trip to Vienna;
• The first episode of the project “KolledzCheck” was released;
• The second season of the project “Ukrainian Palaces. The Golden Age” was released.

“And there are many other projects. Perhaps they are necessary for someone. But I do not quite understand why this is necessary for American taxpayers. Why do we not ask for funds for something truly necessary? The new director of the Foreign Ministry, Marco Rubio, has long wanted to carry out a reform. I remember well the conversations with his team, who suggested that the funds flow directly to the countries instead of enriching certain people in the USA under the guise of helping other countries,” emphasized the politician.

In the comments to the post, former Minister of Labor and Social Policy of Ukraine, Pawlo Rosenko, added that there are still many projects that also raise questions about their appropriateness.

The former deputy head of the computer crime department in the SBU, Kostiantyn Korsun, also supported the appropriateness of the USA's decision to review the projects.

Public activist Jurij Honcharenko also supported the decision to conduct a review. In his opinion, most humanitarian projects dealing with energy independence will still receive funding. He emphasized that “Ukrainians should not be outraged by this pause, but should take a look at their projects.”

Meanwhile, many users pointed out that such a decision by the USA could have negative effects on the sectors where this aid has proven effective: energy, medicine, education.

It should be noted that American Secretary of State Marco Rubio issues an order to suspend payments for 90 days for most existing grants for foreign aid and to suspend the allocation of new grants. It is noted that the order issued for all diplomatic and consular facilities requires department employees to “suspend work” on almost all existing foreign aid grants.

Later, diplomats in the USA called for programs related to Ukraine to be exempted from the suspension of foreign aid payments for 90 days.