The U.S. government failed to properly track more than $1 billion worth of weapons and military devices sent to Ukraine, according to the Defense Department's office of the inspector general.
In a report released Thursday by the DoD's IG, cited shoulder-fired missiles, kamikaze drones and night-vision devices that were intended to be sent to Ukraine, according to The New York Times.
"The DoD did not fully comply with enhanced end‑use monitoring (EEUM) the program requirements for defense article accountability in a hostile environment," the report said.
"Cooperation-Ukraine (ODC‑Ukraine) personnel have not been able to conduct initial inventories on all EEUM‑designated defense articles within 90 days of arrival."
Failure to track the arms and equipment raised concerns they could be stolen or smuggled, the Times reported.
"It was beyond the scope of our evaluation to determine whether there has been diversion of such assistance," the report said. "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."
By law, nearly 40,000 weapons should have been closely monitored because their sensitive technology and relatively small size makes them attractive for arms smugglers, the Times reported.
The outlet added that the report did not detail exactly how many of the high-risk pieces of material that were given to Ukraine in the years before and after Russia's February 2021 invasion were considered "delinquent."
The report put the potential loss at about $1 billion of the nearly $1.7 billion worth of the weapons that had been sent by the U.S. and partner nations as of June 2, 2023.
The IG's report comes at a time Congress is debating more aid to Ukraine. President Joe Biden and Democrats are trying to pass a supplemental package, but many Republicans are insisting their backing depends on a change to the administration's southern border policy that has resulted in the current migrant issue.
The IG report said that "achieving a complete picture" of defense supplies in Ukraine will be difficult "as the inventory continues to change, and accuracy and completeness will likely only become more difficult over time as the total number of EEUM‑designated defense articles in Ukraine continues to change."
The Times reported that the number of the weapons reviewed in the report represents only a small fraction of about $50 billion in military equipment that the U.S. has sent Ukraine since 2014.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.