Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman announced during her visit to Kyiv that the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and working with Congress, plans to invest up to an additional $60 million to strengthen Ukraine’s cybersecurity capabilities and foster Ukraine’s and to foster Ukraine’s broader digital transformation.
The additional funding from the American people, to be invested through September 2025 subject to the availability of funds, will help the Government of Ukraine ensure that critical infrastructure is protected against cyberattacks, a key Kremlin weapon in its war against Ukraine. USAID assistance will also help safeguard ongoing digital transformation initiatives which bolster transparency, such as Diia, a platform developed by the Ministry of Digital Transformation with USAID assistance. Diia makes 120 government services more accessible by giving Ukraine’s citizens a one-stop digital shop to digitally pay taxes, register businesses, and even display a valid passport on their phones. Since the start of the Russian Federation’s full-scale war, USAID has also supported critical cybersecurity interventions to protect nearly 1.3 billion electronic health records and strengthen the resiliency of the national e-health system. USAID will partner with New Zealand to advance Ukraine’s cybersecurity and will pursue partnerships with other countries who share our commitment to standing with Ukraine.
Since 2014 and particularly since the run-up to its brutal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian Federation has targeted cyberattacks against Ukraine’s government institutions and critical infrastructure such as telecommunications, electricity, and data storage systems. USAID launched its Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure in Ukraine Activity in 2020 to help Ukraine strengthen its capabilities to repel attacks and repair systems after attacks have occurred. This assistance has been critical during the war, helping Ukraine keep its state institutions and key infrastructure running and meeting the needs of the Ukrainian people. USAID has also supported Ukraine’s efforts to form partnerships with international cybersecurity actors, including Ukraine’s State Service for Special Communication and Information Protection launching cooperation with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
This additional USAID cybersecurity assistance for Ukraine will help rebuild and strengthen the cybersecurity posture of critical infrastructure, mitigate corruption, and safeguard important digital transformation initiatives by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, in wartime and beyond. This includes efforts to bolster digital infrastructure, support private sector growth in industries such as information and communications technology, and help Ukraine adopt digital tools for delivering public services, reducing corruption, and fostering citizen engagement in political processes. The announcement comes just weeks after USAID announced plans to provide $650,000 in assistance to help Ukraine promote its Diia platform in other countries that seek to accelerate their own digital transformation.
