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Ever since the collapse of Soviet communism in the early 1990s, Eastern Europe has been fertile ground for PMC firms, which are usually employed to provide protection to corporations and wealthy families. Now the demand for PMCs in the region is rising fast and is expected to be constant for the foreseeable future. Currently, PMC jobs in Ukraine, an active warzone, come with a host of physical-security challenges. Experts tell the BBC that most of the missions in which PMCs experts participate involve logistical support and so-called “extraction” operations. These refer to organized efforts to help remove people from Ukraine. They can range from simple to very complex operations, sometimes involving entire families of people who have the means to pay for their security. In such cases, operations may be priced in the millions, with handsome profits for those involved. In many cases, PMCs can charge in excess of $10,000 per person for extraction operations.

Industry insiders stated that a number of non-governmental organizations operating inside or around Ukraine are hiring now PMCs for protection. In such cases, PMC personnel are “supposed to protect people, places or assets, rather than engage in direct combat”. However, there are instances of intelligence agencies that are hiring PMCs in order to extract some of their personnel who have gotten stuck in Ukraine amidst the conflict. These operations are among the most complex because they involve contractual work on behalf of foreign governments.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government said last week it would make provisions to offer Ukrainian citizenship to international volunteers who join the ranks of its military. Ukraine’s Deputy Interior Minister, Yevhen Yemen, said in an interview that a special Ukrainian “military passport” will be given to international volunteers. The passport will replace the need for a visa, and can potentially be replaced with a Ukrainian passport for those who wish to acquire citizenship. On the same day, a number of African countries, among them Senegal, Nigeria, and Algeria, cautioned their citizens against traveling to Ukraine to fight in the war in exchange for money or citizenship.

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USAID will coordinate closely with the Department of State as they also support international organization partners responding to the needs of those internally displaced. The State Department will lead the U.S. Government’s response on any resulting refugee situation.

The DART comprises 17 disaster experts from USAID who are assessing the situation, identifying priority needs to scale up assistance inside Ukraine, and working with partners to provide rapidly needed assistance to communities affected by the conflict.

Prior to today’s attacks, USAID had already been working extensively with partners to adapt existing humanitarian programs where possible and provide rapid response funding to ensure that partners can quickly scale up assistance as a result of increased needs. This includes contingency and preparedness efforts to increase funding, staffing, program flexibility, and stockpiles of supplies for a range of scenarios including large-scale displacement.

Working with partners on the ground, USAID has continued to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance in the areas that can be reached. With widespread attacks targeting civilian infrastructure and urban areas, potentially affecting millions of Ukrainians, USAID anticipates that access challenges experienced to date will only grow. The United States continues to be gravely concerned about the likely widespread impact on civilians, including Ukraine’s most vulnerable populations.

With the conflict entering its eighth year, 2.9 million people in Ukraine were already in need of urgent humanitarian assistance and nearly 1.5 million people were already displaced before Russia launched its full-scale assault this week, and heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine and beyond is driving thousands more people to flee their homes. Now, with average winter temperatures below freezing, additional humanitarian aid is even more critical.

The United States is committed to supporting the Ukrainian people and is one of the largest donors of humanitarian assistance in Ukraine. We will continue to provide assistance as needs continue to rise. Since the conflict began, the United States has provided more than $351 million to vulnerable communities across Ukraine. This includes food, safe drinking water, shelter, emergency health care, and winterization services to communities affected by ongoing fighting.

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