Ukraine’s $30 Billion US Aid: Accounting Chamber Confirms Effective Use After Audits

Ukraine’s direct budget support from the United States, totaling $30 billion, has been used effectively and in accordance with its intended goals, according to the Accounting Chamber’s audit findings on March 18.

These audits were carried out with the support of the US Government Accountability Office’s Audit Excellence Center. The Chamber confirmed that the US financial assistance provided to Ukraine was effectively utilized and aligned with the stated objectives.

The total amount of direct budget support provided by the US government from 2022 to 2024 exceeded $30 billion. This funding was disbursed through several major agreements, including:

• The “Support for Public Expenditures to Ensure Sustainable Public Governance in Ukraine” project (PEACE in Ukraine) — $27.05 billion, with $12.7 billion allocated to the Pension Fund of Ukraine.

• Additional Agreement No. 8 to the Agreement on Task Execution in the Development Sector — $1.7 billion.

• A grant from the Multilateral Donor Cooperation Fund — $1.1 billion.

The financial audit of the Multilateral Donor Cooperation Fund grant confirmed the accuracy of the financial statements and found no violations in the receipt or accounting of the funds.

The audit of direct budget support for vital needs in Ukraine confirmed the targeted use of funds, particularly for paying wages to teachers and healthcare workers. However, it recommended improvements in the verification of recipients and the establishment of data exchange mechanisms between government registers.

The healthcare system audit confirmed that $1.7 billion was properly allocated to fund government guarantees for medical services. However, it recommended enhancing internal controls within the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) to prevent overpayments.

The audit of the Pension Fund of Ukraine found that $12.7 billion from the PEACE project was used as intended, ensuring stable pension payments for over 10 million retirees despite the ongoing war.

Following the audits, recommendations were provided to improve internal controls, increase financial transparency, enhance verification of social benefits recipients, and improve the accounting of aid recipients.

Substantial progress has been made in implementing these recommendations, according to the Accounting Chamber. In 2024, $500,000 in overpaid medical service funds was returned to the budget, and the internal audit department of the NHSU identified and refunded overpayments totaling $1.6 million, with a portion of this already reimbursed.

Previously, it was reported that the decision by the US administration to suspend foreign aid has significantly disrupted the supply of antiretroviral drugs in several countries, potentially leaving millions of people without access to life-saving HIV treatment.