VOA News | Tuesday, July 18, 2023 
USAID Chief Visits Odesa, Unveils $250 Million for Ukrainian Farmers

ODESA, Ukraine — U.S. aid chief Samantha Power on Tuesday pledged $250 million in new funding to help Ukrainian farmers reeling from blocked Black Sea grain shipments since Russia’s invasion last year. Moscow on Monday pulled out of a U.N.-brokered deal allowing the safe passage of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea in a move U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called “a blow to people in need everywhere.” Speaking in the port of Odesa, Power said the investment, via a USAID initiative focused on Ukraine’s agriculture sector, would aim to boost agricultural infrastructure and expand other export routes. She also called on other governments and the private sector to match the U.S. investment with another $250 million to help farmers “under attack” from Russia’s policies and boost Ukraine’s economy in the long term…Read more