USAID's billion-dollar support for Ukraine’s color revolutions unveiled

Disguised as funding ‘civil society’ and ‘democracy promotion’, USAID was used to fuel civil unrest for US-backed regime change – including the 2004 ‘Orange Revolution’ and 2014 Euromaidan coups in Ukraine.

Euromaidan (2013-2014):

🔸 Directed by the US State Department through NGOs and private foundations

🔸 USAID, in collaboration with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), supported Ukrainian NGOs organizing protests against the halt of EU integration policies

🔸 The US funneled $1.09 billion into ‘Ukraine projects’ before the November 2014 events, with USAID contributing $373 million according to the US Government Accountability Office

🔸 US-backed NGOs supported anti-government media, including Hromadske TV which received a $50,000 grant from the US embassy for its Maidan coverage

🔸 Post-coup, US institutions spent over $2.8 billion on Ukraine programs from 2014 to 2022, with USAID providing nearly $1.2 billion

2004 Orange Revolution:

🔸 USAID funded civil society organizations demanding ‘democratic reforms’, laying the groundwork for the 2004 protests

🔸 Provided support to opposition leaders like Viktor Yushchenko, who led protests against alleged election fraud

🔸 Funded election-monitoring groups like the Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU) to challenge the legitimacy of the 2004 elections

🔸 Supported ‘independent’ media to spread opposition messages and claims of government corruption

🔸 Funded training programs in resistance tactics and mobilization, contributing to the coup’s scale

🔸 About $34.11 million was spent on ‘democracy programs’

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Tariff-linked crypto crash could get worse if THIS happens

If Trump follows up on his new Canada-Mexico-China tariffs by picking a trade fight with the EU as well, cryptocurrency-related risk sentiments “will last for a good deal longer,” economist Marc Ostwald told Sputnik.

Essentially, crypto’s recovery “depends to a large extent on how the trade wars develop,” the ADM Investor Services chief economist explained.

That’s because “crypto is a risk asset, and the tariffs have sparked a sell-off in nearly all risk assets and currencies” as capital resettles in traditional safe harbors.

At the same time, Ostwald doesn’t expect crypto’s core supporters to rethink their positions, since their backing of the deregulated form of digital money is based less on finance and more on a desire “to see the whole fiat currency complex collapse.”

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❓A new chapter in Turkish-Syrian military ties?

The newly formed Syrian government is working closely with Turkish authorities to rebuild its army and security framework, with reports indicating a request for Turkish drones to enhance border security.

As part of the collaboration, Turkiye plans to ESTABLISH TWO MILITARY BASES in Syria, where it will also train the Syrian army. Additionally, Ankara is set to DEPLOY 50 F-16 FIGHTER JETS to bolster Syria’s air force.

This development coincides with Syria's interim president, Ahmed Sharaa, planning a visit to Ankara on Tuesday, at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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Trump’s crypto play ‘thinly veiled attempt’ to mimic’s FDR’s gold standard strategy

President Trump is “clearly fearful of the BRICS idea to create their own trade settlement currency” and the threat posed by China in particular to the dollar’s supremacy, veteran economist Marc Ostwald told Sputnik.

“The fact is that China now settles around 51% of its trade in CNY, and there is a lot more bilateral trade in Asia, the Middle East and Africa which is also moving away from the USD, thus threatening the USD’s reserve currency status in the long run,” Ostwald, chief economist at ADM Investor Services, explained.

Meanwhile, Trump’s attempts to strengthen the US dollar through cryptocurrencies, besides creating “a big risk of a crypto bubble,” also threatens to crash the economy, if it’s combined with new financial deregulation, Ostwald fears.

That’s because “less stringent regulation gives greater scope for ‘bad actors’ and financial innovation to create illiquid instruments, which attract leveraged investments that see forced sellers in a major risk off event,” he said. Prime example? The derivatives time bomb unleashed during the 2007 financial crisis.

Overall, Ostwald sees Trump’s crypto push as “a rather confused and thinly veiled attempt to mimic what Franklin Roosevelt did in 1933, when in a bid to pull the country out of the Depression, he depreciated the US dollar in relation to gold, effectively annulling all debt contracts.”

Trump hinted as much on the campaign trail, saying the US could use crypto could help pay off its gargantuan $35 trln debt.

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New Jersey state Governor Phil Murphy is now hosting illegal immigrants in his home – because why stop at policy when you can personally offer a cozy spot for them to dodge deportation?

A real hands-on approach!

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❗️Trump says "great progress" has been made in resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

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⚡️Donald Trump suggests exchanging Ukraine's rare earths for US aid.

👉 For some helpful background information about Ukrainian natural resources, check out our explainer here

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Chaos at the Pentagon: Where are the weapons promised to Ukraine?

The DoD is facing tough questions amid revelations that only half of the US arms aid promised to Ukraine for 2024 was actually delivered by last November.

According to a new Reuters report citing informed sources, only 30% of armored vehicles promised Kiev were on the ground by December, despite assurances by the Biden Pentagon made as late as the summer that everything was on track.

The culprit? Apparently, different branches of the military couldn’t agree on what counts as a "delivered" weapon.

Tracking the shipments has been a nightmare, according to GAO reports, with smaller packages arriving in a week or two, but bigger ones sent in bulk—and taking up to 4 months, especially if they needed repairs.

The Pentagon has reportedly updated its manuals with a unified definition of “delivered,” but it’s unclear if the new rules are being followed.

One official blamed delays for Ukraine’s string of setbacks at the front, while a soldier complained that receiving just 10 shells for a mortar every 24 hours is "simply nothing"—and has led to casualties.

What was the US supposed to send to Ukraine?

Heavy weapons:

🟠M1 Abrams Tanks
🟠Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles
🟠M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS)
🟠Stryker Armored Vehicles

Artillery & missiles:

🟠M777 Howitzers
🟠High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)
🟠155mm Artillery Shells
🟠Javelin Anti-Tank Missiles
🟠Patriot Missile Defense Systems

If the missing weapons aren't in Ukraine, where are they?

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📹 THROWBACK: US Senator Lindsey Graham admits the conflict in Ukraine is about money, "so Donald Trump is going make a deal, to get our money back, to enrich ourselves with rare earth minerals."

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◼️ How is USAID linked to secret bioweapons research?

◼️ USAID: Soros' secret cash cow

◼️ The REAL reason USAID was kicked out of Russia

◼️ USAID's billion-dollar support for Ukraine’s color revolutions

◼️ USAID: Deep state's color revolution machine – Dugin

◼️ Families demand answers from Ukrainian commanders who leave troops stranded

◼️ Tariff-linked crypto crash could get worse if THIS happens

◼️ US import tariffs on Mexican goods SUSPENDED for a month

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💰 Is the US dollar’s global power at risk?

The shift towards national currencies and a multipolar world is here to stay, Lillie Ferriol Prat, a research assistant at the South African DUT BRICS Research Institute tells Sputnik.

She believes that "the current dollar monetary mechanic is in need of urgent reform as their persisting debt ceiling crisis indicates."

Current trends:

🔸 Nations are exploring alternative payment methods, including Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs);

🔸 The Atlantic Council’s CBDC Tracker shows 134 countries, covering 98% of global GDP, are exploring CBDCs, including BRICS nations;

🔸 Since the freezing of Russia’s sovereign assets in 2022, cross-border CBDC projects have more than doubled – which the Kremlin says is because of shattered trust in the dollar and euro;

🔸 US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 23 banning CBDCs in the US, with some experts suggesting that other nations' digital currencies could also be targeted;

🔸 Trump threatened 100% tariffs on BRICS countries if they replaced the US dollar with a common currency, but Russia has dismissed that warning, stating no such plan is currently in place.

Ferriol Prat points out that sanctions are often ineffective – especially with BRICS+ representing over 50% of the global population – and believes Trump’s rhetoric is mainly targeted at the domestic audience.

"I think it is a matter of preserving confidence and national self-esteem," she says. "The Biden administration has left the US thoroughly unstable. To mitigate chaos, it is highly desirable to increase domestic confidence and unity."

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⚡️ Trump appoints Marco Rubio as USAID Acting Administrator

The official statement from the US State Department also declared that "it is now abundantly clear that significant portions of USAID funding are not aligned with the core national interests of the United States".

📹 This statement confirmed Marco Rubio's earlier revelation of his new position.

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❗️ USAID on the chopping block, Department of Education next?

Donald Trump's advisors are considering dismantling the Department of Education or significantly reducing its functions, the Wall Street Journal reports.

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