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Secretary of State Rubio Tasks Yuri Kim with Monitoring Aid to Ukraine
2025-02-26 20:13:25 / AKTUALITET
Senior State Department officials are compiling a list of additional exemptions to the foreign aid freeze for Ukraine, which could give the country access to some economic and security-related assistance that is currently on hold.
If approved, the waivers would go beyond what Secretary of State Marco Rubio has authorized worldwide for “essential life-saving” aid to fund programs such as mine clearance and narcotics control, according to a State Department official, two other people familiar with the planning and a document obtained by POLITICO .
It was not clear whether an exemption for foreign military funding controlled by the State Department was in the works for Ukraine, which just entered its fourth year of fighting a full-scale Russian invasion. Congress has allocated more than $4 billion so far in such aid to Ukraine’s military. Most of it has already been allocated for a range of expenses, from acquiring weapons like Javelin missiles to equipment like radios. Some of these contracts span years, making it difficult to ascertain exactly how much has been spent.
On a practical level, it is uncertain that additional aid to Ukraine would reach Kiev even with new exemptions, given that already approved waivers for humanitarian aid have largely been thwarted.
But politically, efforts to expand Ukraine exemptions hint at divisions within Trump's team over how to deal with Kiev.
President Donald Trump last week engaged in verbal spats with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while he was pursuing peace talks with Russia, and there are fears he could abandon Kiev altogether. The Trump administration has even campaigned against Ukraine at the UN Security Council this week in an attempt to prevent the passage of a resolution condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
But some of Trump's aides, including Keith Kellogg, the special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, and Rubio, have been more critical of Russia, even if cautiously or privately.
The State Department sidestepped a question about whether new exemptions had been granted for Ukraine, saying in a statement that “programs that serve our nation’s interests will continue. However, programs that are inconsistent with our national interest will not.” Spokespeople for the State Department and the National Security Council did not respond to requests for comment on whether additional Ukraine exemptions were being discussed.
The State Department official and two others familiar with the planning were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal administration policies.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Congress has appropriated $175 billion for aid to Ukraine, other war-torn countries, and related programs, according to a Council on Foreign Relations analysis from last fall. A small portion of that — about $3 billion, according to the CFR — is for humanitarian aid, but those funds could go a long way, because such material is less expensive to purchase than weapons.
Plans for the exemptions date back to at least late January, days after the Trump administration imposed a broad freeze on foreign aid, according to the document. The proposed exemptions covered programs ranging from general economic support to landmine removal to narcotics control and health programs.
These internal conversations were happening last week, according to the State Department official and internal messages between bureau officials seen by POLITICO.
The proposed exemptions also include accounts overseeing funding to support Ukraine's democratic institutions and civil society, referred to domestically as transition initiatives and so-called assistance to Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia, or AEECA funds.
According to the document, waivers will not be allowed for programs that encourage diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
Yuri Kim, the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, has been tasked with compiling a list of programs from bureaus and offices across the department that deal with Ukraine as part of the effort to expand exemptions, the State Department official told POLITICO.
Kim did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The exact chain of command was unclear. The State Department official said the process bypassed the department’s foreign assistance office. That unit is headed by Pete Marocco, a Trump ally and foreign aid skeptic who has taken a leading role in dismantling USAID. But the document said the foreign assistance office would be consulted./ Politico.com, translated by Alfapress.al
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