WASHINGTON The State Department this week terminated a U.S. Agency for International Development initiative that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to help restore Ukraine's energy grid from attacks by the Russian military,according to two USAID officials working on the agencys Ukraine mission.Power outages have been applied overnight in some regions of Ukraine due to the attacks on energy facilities. The countrys systems have sustained near-constant impact throughout the course of the three-year war. It significantly undercuts this administrations abilities to negotiate on the ceasefire, and itd signal to Russia that we dont care aboutUkraineor our past investments, one USAID official involved in theUkrainemission told NBC News.The official continued: Russia is fighting a two-pronged war in Ukraine: A military one but also an economic one. Theyre trying to crush the economy, but USAID has played a central role in helping it be resilient, [including] shoring up theenergygridWeve provided vast amount of support to the Ukrainian government to avoid a macro economic crisis.In addition to ending the Ukraine Energy Security Project, USAID is also dramatically downsizing its presence in Ukraine.Before the Trump administrations latest moves, 64 American government employees and contractors were serving on the ground inUkrainefor the agency. Just eight of those personnel are slated to remain on the ground in the war-torn country after the Trump administration placed its remaining global workforce on administrative leave and ordered those workers not deemed critical to return to the U.S.The two officials warned that USAID withdrawing from Ukraine would leave itsenergygrid vulnerable in the heart of the winter as it endures assaults from further Russian missiles.A State Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Both officials also asserted that USAID plays the foremost role in ensuring financial aid provided toUkraineis spent for its intended purposes.Based on a document obtained by NBC News, the State Department has also ordered the termination of a program focused on financial sector reform activity.We wont have the eyes on where this money has gone over the last few years, one of the officials said.USAIDs Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, which oversees the Ukraine mission, has 115 staff based in Washington, D.C. The bureaus staff has been told that number would be pared down to 29 employees remaining active, according to the two USAID officials.