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The US State Department issued new guidelines on economic aid withdrawal: why Ukrainians should not panic

Mikhail LevakinWorld
The instructions suspending foreign aid from the United States do not apply to Ukraine

New US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has issued an "order that shocked State Department officials." The document contains instructions to suspend spending on most existing foreign aid grants for 90 days. Although the State Department has not officially released the order, several media outlets have already noted that military aid to Ukraine will be the first to be cut off. However, the Pentagon denies that aid to Ukraine will be cut off.

In particular, Politico believes that Rubio's order "concerns the funding of military assistance to Ukraine." In turn, Ukrainian journalist Ostap Yarysh, who works in the United States, contacted the Pentagon and denied the publication's assumptions.

"The Pentagon is telling me the opposite, that this decree does not concern military support. I don't know what exactly Politico means. I suspect that it may be about the FMF program, but the funds allocated to support Ukraine have long been spent," the journalist said. FMF is Foreign Military Financing, a grant or loan program for the purchase of US defense goods and services.

Politico is not sure that Rubio's document is related to Ukraine. Although the publication refers to the document itself, it notes that "the order refers to almost all available foreign aid grants."

The publication also cites three current and two former State Department officials. "This order shocked some department officials with its broad mandate. The state has simply completely abandoned foreign aid," the newspaper quoted its sources as saying.

But there are exceptions to the order, Politico notes, specifying that "military funding for Egypt and Israel will continue."

Reuters, which is also familiar with the document, claims the opposite.

First, it is not an order, but Mr. Rubio's instructions, "drafted by the U.S. Department of State's Office of Foreign Assistance." Secondly, they "refer to the withdrawal of military funding to Israel and Egypt, and do not mention other countries," the agency emphasizes.

That is, Ukraine is not mentioned. This is what the Pentagon says as well.

It should be noted that the "State Department's instructions" are based on US President Donald Trump's decree to suspend international support for 90 days. However, security assistance to Ukraine is not covered by this decree, as it only applies to development programs, not military support.

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