USAID funding cut already felt after Russia's recent attack – Sumy volunteer leader

Oleksii Kliuiev, head of Sumy Dobrobat, a volunteer construction battalion that helps victims in the urgent restoration of housing and social infrastructure, shared the information on Espreso.

"Unfortunately, we already felt the impact of funding cuts to international programs after Trump’s decree, following a Russian Shahed drone strike on a high-rise building in Sumy. This wasn’t the first hit in the area," he noted.

Earlier in the fall, a missile struck a neighboring yard, shattering more than 2,500 windows. USAID had funded the purchase and replacement of window blocks, but due to the funding cut, Dobrobat was unable to do the same this time, Kliuiev said.

"As a result of the January 29 strike, many windows were broken. This is a densely populated residential area with many high-rise buildings, and the blast wave destroys everything in its path. Since these buildings have large enclosed courtyards, the shockwave is even more devastating," he added.

• On the evening of January 29, Russian forces launched UAV strikes across Ukraine. A fire broke out on the outskirts of Chernihiv after a Shahed drone explosion. In Sumy, the attack left several dead and injured nine others.