UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy delivered a stark warning today about President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to US foreign aid during his diplomatic visit to Kyiv, calling the move a potential “big strategic mistake.”
Speaking after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Lammy expressed grave concerns about the vacuum that could emerge from a US aid withdrawal. “Development remains a very important soft power tool,” Lammy stated. “In the absence of development, China and other nations might step in.”
The warning comes amid sweeping changes at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), where the Trump administration has implemented a freeze on aid programs and announced significant staff reductions. These changes could affect thousands of workers and vital programs across nearly 100 countries.
Drawing parallels to Britain’s own experience, Lammy urged caution: “The US government should look closely at what went wrong when the UK government shut down its Department for International Development.” He referenced the controversial 2020 merger of DfID with the Foreign Office, which he described as a “strategic mistake” that took years to address.
The situation has already sparked legal challenges, with a federal judge in Washington, DC temporarily halting the staff cuts after federal worker associations filed a lawsuit questioning Trump’s authority to close a congressionally established agency.
The $40 billion USAID budget currently supports crucial programs in various nations including Ukraine, Ethiopia, Jordan, Yemen, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Syria. The potential withdrawal of this support has raised concerns about stability in these regions.
While acknowledging Trump’s commitment to end the Ukraine war if re-elected, Lammy remained skeptical about an immediate resolution, pointing to upcoming peace talks at the Munich security conference next week.
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