Concerns are mounting among US and European officials over hundreds of millions of dollars in American energy assistance for Ukraine that remain unreleased, even as a brutal winter pushes the nation’s war-battered power grid to its breaking point.
The aid was originally intended to help Ukraine import liquefied natural gas and rebuild infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes, say sources including a US and a Ukrainian official.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) had notified Congress during the Biden administration of its intention to disburse some funds.
Yet, after USAID was effectively shuttered in the initial weeks of the Trump administration, some money fell into what sources described as “bureaucratic limbo.”
Some administration officials now argue for the State Department, which oversees remaining USAID functions, to disburse the funds.
Others instead push for a role for the Development Finance Corporation, an agency expected to play a major part in Ukraine’s reconstruction.
The Trump administration has paused or delayed Ukraine aid before. For example, the U.S. has temporarily halted military aid shipments several times, in some cases to force concessions from Ukraine amid ongoing U.S.-led peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
This time, the delay in energy aid appears to stem from bureaucratic confusion and infighting instead of an attempt to exert leverage over Ukraine, two of the sources said.
Still, the stalled aid – valued at roughly $250 million by two of the sources – has stirred frustration in recent weeks, as Russian attacks on power plants and pipelines have left millions of Ukrainians exposed to brutal winter cold, according to a Ukrainian official, a U.S. official, a European official and two others with knowledge of the matter.
One source said aides on Capitol Hill were aware of the stalled funds and were seeking additional information.
A Ukrainian official said Kyiv was also aware, but fearful that broaching the topic could provoke diplomatic blowback. U.S. President Donald Trump has at times reacted coolly to Ukrainian requests for assistance.
Halyna Yusypiuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian embassy in Washington, said Ukraine and the U.S. were working closely on energy-related matters.
“(The) Ukrainian and American sides are working on a daily basis to strengthen the stability of Ukraine’s energy system,” she wrote in an e-mail.
A Development Finance Corporation spokesperson said the agency is “working closely with all interagency partners with the goal of supporting Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts and advancing shared economic security and prosperity for the United States and Ukraine.”
