Photo: 7th Army Training Command A recent Pentagon report has brought to light that over $1 billion in military aid sent to Ukraine by the U...
A recent Pentagon report has brought to light that over $1 billion in military aid sent to Ukraine by the United States has not been properly accounted for.
The Defense Department report, which was presented to Congress on Thursday and obtained by The New York Times, reveals serious lapses in the tracking of critical weapons systems amidst heated congressional debates regarding additional support for Ukraine.
The unaccounted-for arsenal includes advanced shoulder-fired missiles, sophisticated kamikaze drones, and state-of-the-art night vision devices.
These items are classified as “high-risk” due to their advanced technology and the ease with which they could be transported and potentially fall into the wrong hands.
According to the findings of the report:
While the DoD has improved execution of Enhanced End-Use Monitoring (EEUM) since the full‑scale invasion began in February 2022, the DoD did not fully comply with the EEUM program requirements for defense article accountability in a hostile environment.
Office of Defense Cooperation–Ukraine (ODC‑Ukraine) personnel have not been able to conduct initial inventories on all EEUM‑designated defense articles within 90 days of arrival.
Although ODC‑Ukraine and Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel conducted some required inventories, as of June 2, 2023, serial number inventories for more than $1.005 billion of the total $1.699 billion (59 percent of the total value) of EEUM‑designated defense articles remained delinquent.
Additionally, the DoD did not maintain an accurate inventory of Ukrainian EEUM‑designated defense articles in the Security Cooperation Information Portal–End‑Use Monitoring (SCIP‑EUM) database.
This occurred for multiple reasons, including the limited number of ODC‑Ukraine personnel at logistics hubs in a partner nation and in Ukraine, the absence of procedures for conducting EEUM in a hostile environment until December 2022, the movement restrictions for EEUM personnel within Ukraine, and a lack of internal controls for validating data in the SCIP‑EUM database.
According to the report, of nearly 40,000 arms delivered to Ukraine, a substantial proportion has not been adequately monitored.
The report added, “It was beyond the scope of our evaluation to determine whether there has been diversion of such assistance. The DoD OIG now has personnel stationed in Ukraine, and the DoD OIG’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service continues to investigate allegations of criminal conduct with regard to U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.”
The Times claimed that no evidence of misuse regarding the weapons in question.
The lack of oversight has raised significant concerns, especially considering the potential for these weapons to be trafficked on the black market.
This revelation comes as the U.S. Congress debates further funding and support for Ukraine.
Last year, it can be recalled the Pentagon revealed that an overestimation in the value of weapons sent to Ukraine over the past two years has resulted in an extra $6.2 billion of U.S. taxpayers’ money earmarked for the Eastern European country. This figure is approximately double what was originally estimated and allegedly will be utilized for future security packages.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh provided clarification on the nature of the error, explaining that the military services had used the replacement cost rather than the book value of equipment pulled from Pentagon stocks and sent to Ukraine.
According to Singh, the error was identified during a detailed review of the accounting process.
“We discovered inconsistencies in equipment valuation for Ukraine. In a significant number of cases, services used replacement costs rather than net book value, thereby overestimating the value of the equipment drawn down from U.S. stock and provided to Ukraine,” Singh said at a news briefing.
According to an unnamed senior adviser to Zelenskyy, people at the top are “stealing” like there is no tomorrow and Ukraine’s president faces pressure to root out corruption as its allies continue to give the country everything it asks for, as reported by Time Magazine.
In January 2023, several high-ranking officials were removed from their positions. This group includes a top presidential adviser, four deputy ministers — two of whom were defense officials — and five regional governors.
As per the disclosure by senior government official Oleg Nemchinov, the following individuals have been relieved of their duties:
- Deputy Prosecutor General Oleskiy Symonenko
- Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Ivan Lukerya
- Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Vyacheslav Negoda
- Deputy Minister for Social Policy Vitaliy Muzychenko
- Regional Governors of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Sumy, and Kherson
The Ministry of Defense previously announced the resignation of Deputy Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who was responsible for the army’s logistical support. This followed allegations of signing food contracts at exorbitant prices.
Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov resigned in September in what Reuters referred to as a “wartime shakeup” of Zelenskyy’s Cabinet.
Reports that people in the Ukrainian government are “stealing” come as President Joe Biden and U.S. lawmakers face pushback from taxpayers about their blank check policy toward funding a war with no end in sight.
In July 2023, Senate Democrats rallied to oppose the establishment of a new office intended to audit taxpayers’ money sent to Ukraine as military aid.
The opposition to the creation of the Office of the Lead Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance saw forty-five Democrats, including every member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, voting against the amendment, according to New York Post.
Independent Senators Angus King (Maine) and Bernie Sanders (Vermont), as well as Republican Senator Rand Paul (Kentucky), also sided with the Democrats.
This move saw several key Democrats, including Jacky Rosen (Nevada), Joe Manchin (West Virginia), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), and Bob Casey (Pennsylvania), preventing the amendment from reaching the necessary 60-vote threshold.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the United States has provided Ukraine with more than $75 billion in assistance since the war began, which includes humanitarian, financial, and military support.
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