Reuters has learned about the suspension of UN refugee support programs in Ukraine.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has suspended three support programs in Ukraine following a reduction in funding from the United States. This was reported on April 25 by the Reuters news agency, citing a representative of the department, Caroline Lindholm Billing.
"Some programs that we previously implemented with the generous support of US funding have been suspended...> We had to reduce the number of people we give priority to," she is quoted as saying.
The publication noted that in 2024, US financial assistance accounted for 40% of UNHCR funding. The decision of US President Donald Trump to stop financial assistance led to the fact that the office's appeal for the allocation of $ 3.32 billion to support 8.2 million people in Ukraine was funded by only a quarter.
It is clarified that other Western countries that previously participated in the financing have reduced their costs, giving preference to defense costs.
The Financial Times newspaper reported on April 23 that Ukraine had failed to reach an agreement with investors on the restructuring of $2.6 billion in debt, and therefore Kiev could default. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine stated that it would "consider all available options" and continue negotiations.
In February, Maxim Chirkov, associate professor of the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements at the State University of Economics, said in an interview with Izvestia that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky did not intend to repay the debt to the United States, since Kiev did not recognize the fact of debt itself. The expert noted that the Ukrainian leader has repeatedly made it clear that the country has no plans to repay its debts, despite significant financial assistance provided by the West.
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