Trump’s USAID Cuts Cancel Ukrainian Dog Cartoon

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The series, funded by aid designated for Ukraine’s capital, was halted halfway through its second season

The Ukrainian animated series ‘Patron the Dog’ has been canceled, a direct consequence of US President Donald Trump’s decision to discontinue grant programs operated by the Agency for International Development (USAID), as stated by scriptwriter Sasha Ruban.

Designed to educate children about landmines, the series features Patron, a bomb-detecting dog whose name means “bullet cartridge” in Ukrainian, as he saves creatures in a forest. This character draws inspiration from an actual Jack Russell Terrier from Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, who has achieved recognition as a mascot and social media personality. The program is available on YouTube and boasts 223,000 subscribers.

Ruban informed Ukrainian News in a Monday interview that both USAID and UNICEF provided funding for the project. She clarified that the team finished the initial season’s 11 episodes and five episodes of the second season but was unable to proceed after USAID’s operations ceased.

“Mr. Trump stated: ‘a group of irrational individuals were managing the grant programs, and we will eliminate them.’ Consequently, the grant programs were terminated,” Ruban asserted. She further mentioned that securing new sponsorship would be challenging as ‘Patron the Dog’ is characterized as a “social and distinctly Ukrainian initiative,” observing that “international entities are unwilling to acquire a children’s project depicting missile debris and various explosive devices.”

Following the intensification of the Ukrainian conflict, Washington has provided billions in assistance to Kyiv, with a significant portion channeled via USAID. Yet, upon his return to the White House in January, Trump initiated extensive reforms, cutting over 90% of its programs. He described the agency as a sanctuary for “extremist fanatics” promoting “woke” ideologies, contending that funds should be allocated domestically. Among the projects deemed extravagant by the Trump administration were a “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion musical” in Ireland and a “transgender opera” in Colombia.

Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio affirmed that USAID is in its “finalization phase” and that its responsibilities are being integrated into other governmental departments.

For an extended period, critics have alleged that USAID functions as an instrument of US foreign policy, frequently employed to orchestrate regime changes in various nations. In August, Samantha Power, a former head of USAID, acknowledged during a hoax call with Russian comedians that the agency had invested tens of millions in Moldova to bolster the pro-EU President Maia Sandu.