**EU Sees Opportunity to Boost Aid Visibility Amid USAID Funding Freeze**
The European Union cannot fully replace funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), but it sees this as an opportunity to make its aid more visible, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on February 13.
Kallas emphasized that the EU will not automatically fill the void left by USAID funding. “We don‘t have those funds,” she explained. The US government has frozen nearly all international development funding and plans to lay off most of USAID’s global workforce, citing allegations of widespread waste and fraud. However, foreign aid only accounts for 1% of the federal budget.
**USAID Funding Has Been Crucial in Ukraine**
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, USAID has provided $2.6 billion in humanitarian aid, $5 billion in development assistance, and more than $30 billion in direct budget support to Kyiv. The agency has funded school reconstruction, bomb shelters, critical energy repairs, and civil society initiatives.
**EU Will Make Its Aid More Visible**
Kallas said that the EU will make its funding more explicitly linked to recipients in the future, ensuring they understand that the support comes from Europe. She added that this is an opportunity for the European Union to make its presence more visible, especially since it has funded many organizations with substantial funds.
**Ukraine Situation Worsens**
Russian attacks on multiple Ukrainian regions have killed at least one civilian and injured 20 over the past day, regional authorities reported on February 10. The sanctions imposed by Western countries freeze all assets held by targeted individuals in Ukraine and block them from conducting financial transactions.
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