US Cuts to Foreign Aid Impact Ukraine’s War Crimes Investigations

The Trump administration’s freeze on foreign aid is beginning to impact international efforts to hold Russia accountable for war crimes in Ukraine, according to eight sources and a Ukrainian funding document reviewed by Reuters, on February 10.

US-funded initiatives, such as the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) for Ukraine, play a key role in supporting Ukrainian authorities by providing expert assistance and oversight in war crimes investigations. Six projects under Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office, totaling $89 million, are now at risk due to US funding cuts, according to a Ukrainian document. Five of these projects have already been frozen, sources confirmed, affecting efforts ranging from battlefield evidence preservation to anti-corruption initiatives and judicial reforms.

According to the document, two of the affected projects were financed by USAID , three by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, and one directly by the US State Department. Of the total funds, $47 million was specifically allocated to war crimes investigations.

The funding freeze has also forced nearly 40 experts, provided through Georgetown University’s International Criminal Justice Initiative—the lead implementing body of ACA—to halt their work, two sources said. Another source reported that an adviser at Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office was placed on leave, and a project supporting victims of war-related sexual violence was suspended.

Ukrainian NGOs  have also been affected. Representatives of two such organizations told Reuters that their work collecting testimonies from victims and documenting war damage is either at risk or already on hold.

Leonid Sapelnikov, deputy head of Ukraine’s State Judicial Administration, confirmed that the funding freeze has also delayed the planned launch of a US-funded case management system, part of broader efforts to modernize Ukraine’s judicial system.

Previously, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the suspension of the United for Ukraine (U4U) program, which has provided a pathway for Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s war to enter the United States, Voice of America reported on January 28.