Global humanitarian funding cuts are putting a squeeze on aid workers as conflicts continue to surge, according to the International Rescue Committee.
"This year we need to take difficult decisions," said Alain Homsy, the IRC’s Ukraine country director.
Speaking to EUobserver on Tuesday (17 June) in Brussels, Homsy said the IRC's annual budget for Ukraine of some $38m [€32.8m] is set to be reduced by half next year.
IRC and other aid organisations have seen their budgets cut, in part, to the US decision to slash USAID in March.
Despite the funding shortfall in Ukraine, Europe has still managed to fill the gap left behind by the US, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
"In just two months, Europe allocated €10.4bn in military aid and €9.8bn in humanitarian and financial aid," says the institute.
But European laggards remain, including Germany which significantly reduced its funding for Ukraine this year.
Berlin allocated €650m in 2025, marking a drop of around 70 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Similar trends have been seen in Italy and Spain, according to the institute.
The United Nations has also rung the alarm at a global level.
Earlier this week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs described it as "the deepest funding cuts ever to hit the international humanitarian sector".
The impact in Ukraine is being felt as aid organisations compete for a dwindling pot of donor money.
For the IRC in Ukraine, the USAID represented around 30 percent of its budget, said Homsey.
The cuts could lead to layoffs next year, affecting some of the current 350 national and 15 international staff working for the IRC in Ukraine.
It will also reduce funding for some of their programmes, spanning health to protecting children and women, forcing the IRC to re-orient its strategy.
Homsey said they will focus on hard to reach areas while seeking out more local organisations on the ground to work with.
"I find it really difficult to see that a lot of the projects that we're seeing and we're doing, and also other NGOs are doing ... that all of a sudden it stopped," he says.
A report by the IRC from earlier this year found that over 31,000 people, most of them elderly and living with chronic illnesses, will not be able to access crucial medical care.
The comments come as Russia launched one of its largest missile and drone attacks on Kyiv since the start of the war in 2022.
The nine-hour barrage on Monday night killed up to 15 people and injured over 40, according to media reports. At least 440 drones and 32 missiles slammed into the city, reportedly hitting residential buildings and critical infrastructure.
But the cuts also come as humanitarian needs spike elsewhere, including Gaza, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Myanmar.
There are currently over 110 armed conflicts taking place throughout the world, according to the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.
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Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.
Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.