The USAID Mission in Ukraine continues to transform its programming to meet the urgent needs of the Ukrainian people following Russia’s full-scale invasion. All USAID/Ukraine programs remain active and we continue to invest in more than 40 activities implemented by approximately 1,000 implementing partner staff in the country. This responds to immediate, evolving needs and helps Ukraine win the future by continuing to develop as an independent, sovereign, democratic, and prosperous society.
USAID is providing $22.9 billion in direct budget support to the Government of Ukraine in response to Russia’s full-scale war, of which $18 billion has already been disbursed. This has helped Ukraine continue to provide critical public services, including by helping pay the salaries of 653,000 educators, 517,000 health workers, and 57,000 first responders. The Mission is helping to ensure accountability and transparency in the use of these funds through third party monitoring and other support to the Ministry of Finance.
USAID delivered fertilizer and corn and sunflower seeds to 8,223 farmers in 15 regions as part of our continued effort to help Ukrainian farmers put food on tables both at home and around the world. In total, USAID has provided seeds, fertilizers, crop protection, and other services to 30% of Ukraine registered farmers since the start of the war. USAID, through its AGRI-Ukraine initiative, also partners with the private sector and other donors to help Ukraine continue to store, transport, and export grain to people around the world.
In May, USAID began accepting applications for small and medium-sized (SME) business grants for family and women-owned businesses. USAID will issue individual grants between $10,000 to $35,000 for a total of $1.5 million. Since the start of the war, USAID has directly supported nearly 7,500 SMEs in manufacturing, information technology, and agriculture, helping them to create or retain nearly 75,000 jobs and attract $31 million in private sector investment. USAID also supports the Government of Ukraine’s Advantage Ukraine platform, which aims to attract $9.7 billion in investment in Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.
USAID has delivered 3,624 generators to more than 150 communities across Ukraine, with many more on the way. These generators ensure electricity and heating for schools, hospitals, centers housing internally-displaced persons, district heating companies, and water systems if and when power is knocked out by Russia’s air strikes. In May, USAID’s Energy Security Project delivered 105 power generators to Ukrainian Railways to maintain uninterrupted passenger and cargo transportation within Ukraine and to provide a back-up power supply to more than 100,000 consumers of electricity.
In May, USAID’s Energy Security Project delivered 15 portable inflatable tents to regional authorities in Kharkiv oblast. Each tent can serve as an emergency shelter for 40 people and provide power to charge cellular phones to stay connected. This builds on the more than 360 tents that USAID provided to Ukraine during the winter. USAID also delivered three 123 kV circuit breakers to Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s electricity transmission system operator. In total, USAID is investing $475 million to help Ukraine repair and maintain its heating and power systems, benefiting up to seven million Ukrainians. This includes delivering vehicles, heating pipes, excavators, transformers, circuit breakers, and other equipment to keep power and heat flowing to communities across Ukraine.
During May, USAID, in partnership with other international donors, helped launch an Assistive Technology Hub in Lviv to support services for Ukrainians living with disabilities. (Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion, 2.7 million Ukrainians were registered as having a disability, with needs continuing to grow due to the war). The first center of its kind in Ukraine, the Hub will act as a source for local centers in eight of Ukraine’s regions to provide mobil-ity aids, wheelchairs, and self-care products. USAID support will enable the Hub to provide assistive technology products to 1,200 Ukrainians by September 2024. USAID is also investing in training for existing and emerging physical rehabilitation professionals.
This assistance is part of USAID’s $6.7 million wartime investment in helping Ukraine provide sustainable, accessible, and high-quality physical rehabilitation services. USAID mobilized a group of youth volunteers to distribute 5,000 laptops donated by HP Inc. within the Global Business Coalition for Education. The laptops will help Ukrainian school students continue learning amid the disruption caused by Russia’s full-scale war. Since the start of the war, USAID-supported youth volunteers have helped more than 1 million people across Ukraine by coordinating and delivering humanitarian assistance, working at displaced persons shelters, staffing call centers, supporting education for children and teenagers, and much more. USAID’s local governance activities directly support 170 communities in 19 of Ukraine’s oblasts to provide emergency services amid Russia’s ongoing war.
That includes delivering assistance to newly-liberated communities, with supplies ranging from power generators to water tanks and pumps to household supplies. In May, USAID de-livered seven 60 kWt and two 20kWt power generators to local government authorities in the cities of Kostian-tynivka and Sloviansk in Donetsk oblast. The generators will equip mobile heating points, schools, childcare facilities, and shelters for both long-term residents and internally displaced persons evacuated from war-affected communities in Donetsk oblast. USAID continues to partner with Ukraine to strengthen the rule of law. In May, USAID delivered desktop computers, power backup devices, and batteries to the National School of Judges, an important institution that trains judges and court staff across Ukraine.
Notably, the National School of Judges trains judicial professionals on war crimes adjudication and court operations during wartime. USAID also partners with the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council to help farmers document war crimes committed against their property. USAID’s civil society activity supports 90 domestic organizations which together have collected and distributed more than 233 tons of humanitarian aid to more than 1 million internally displaced Ukrainians and others in need; provided legal and psychological support to more than 12,600 people, helped locate 381 missing children; and helped more than 1,000 persons with disabilities evacuate from active combat areas.
In May, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation launched a new USAID-supported eRecovery service for Ukrainian citizens to apply for compensation of up to $5,400 for repairs to war-damaged property. Also as of May, more than 75,500 cargo vehicles had transited the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing between Poland and Ukraine using the USAID-supported eQueue system, which helps reduce waiting time for trucks entering the European Union from Ukraine. Following this success, Ukraine’s Ministry of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development expanded the eQueue system to 15 additional ports of entry. The eQueue system allows drivers to book a border crossing time in advance, then wait in a designated parking area. This alleviates unneces-sary congestion at border crossings and reduces opportunities for corruption.
USAID supports more than 250 local independent media outlets to help them continue reporting during wartime. USAID also promotes legislative reforms to strengthen Ukraine’s independent media sector in line with European Union standards. That includes supporting the development and passage of Ukraine’s new Law on Media, which came into force in the spring of 2023. The new legislation strengthens the freedom and independence of Ukraine’s media, including by introducing requirements for a new coregu-lation system, reforms to the licensing system for media companies, strengthening the independence and authority of the national media regulator, and launching community TV and radio.
As part of our support for Ukraine’s democratic development, USAID helped Ukraine’s Parliamentary Research Service create a new internship program for young professionals seeking to work for the Verkhovna Rada. The internship program will train a cohort of professionals ready to strengthen the analytical work of the Rada, pro-moting a more effective and transparent legislature that can better serve the needs of all Ukrainians. Anti-Corruption & E-Governance Parliamentary Support Media USAID continues to support the Government of Ukraine to help Ukraine secure its communications chan-nels, including by strengthening key systems against cyberattacks. In May, USAID helped Ukraine develop a special Cabinet of Ministers Resolution on maintaining critical infrastructure. The resolution contains steps to establish a stronger framework for protecting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure against cyber threats.
USAID also provided Ukraine’s Security & Defense Council with analytical tools to strengthen its ability to detect, analyze, and respond to cyber threats. Cybersecurity
Our Response
The USAID Mission in Ukraine continues to transform its programming to meet the urgent needs of the Ukrainian people following Russia’s full-scale invasion. All USAID/Ukraine programs remain active and we continue to invest in more than 40 activities implemented by approximately 1,000 implementing partner staff in the country. This responds to immediate, evolving needs and helps Ukraine win the future by continuing to develop as an independent, sovereign, democratic, and prosperous society
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