USAID chief announces over $500 million in assistance on Ukraine visit

U.S. aid chief Samantha Power on Monday announced more than $500 million in humanitarian assistance during a visit to Ukraine, where the United Nations says some 17 million people need help following Russia's invasion.

She made the aid announcement, first reported by Reuters, at the State Emergency Services headquarters in the capital, Kyiv, to respond to the needs of Ukrainians affected by the war.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers on both sides have been killed and millions have fled their homes since Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, 2022, leading to Europe's biggest land war since World War Two.

The aid, which will be provided through the United Nations and other non-governmental organization partners, will increase support for those who have been displaced or otherwise affected by the war with emergency food assistance, health care and safe drinking water, among other assistance, according to a statement from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID Administrator Power was shown equipment provided to Ukraine's State Emergency Services by Washington and met Ukraine's famous mine sniffing dog Patron.

Power also said she handed over on Monday an additional $2.3 million worth of equipment to help the agency repair the damage inflicted by Russia's forces on Ukraine's critical infrastructure.

"We see what is happening in Ukraine. Russia continues to burn and Ukraine continues to build. It is our privilege ... to support our Ukrainian partners as they do that building," Power said.

Power also expressed "grave dismay" with Russia's decision to suspend its participation in a pact that has allowed the Black Sea export of grain from Ukraine for the past year in a deal that aimed to alleviate a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blocked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be exported safely.

"This is a reckless decision that will have profound human consequences, and it's just another example of Russian callousness and disregard for human lives and livelihoods, not only here in Ukraine but all around the world," Power said.

Over 9,000 civilians have been killed and 16,000 injured since Russia invaded Ukraine, and there are nearly 6 million Ukrainian refugees across Europe, according to the United Nations.

With Monday's announcement, the United States has provided over $2.6 billion in humanitarian assistance since the war began, including more than $1.9 billion through USAID.

During her visit to Ukraine, Power will meet with government officials as well as farmers, energy workers and emergency response teams, among others, and will also visit USAID partners who deliver assistance, the agency said.

The USAID statement said the announcement follows the collapse of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam on June 6, flooding hundreds of houses in both Ukrainian and Russian-controlled territory in one of the greatest disasters of the conflict thus far.

International legal experts assisting Ukraine concluded last month that it is "highly likely" that Russia was responsible for planting explosives at the dam. Moscow has said Ukraine blew it up on the suggestion of Western leaders.