Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
- The Pentagon hasn't kept proper tabs on $1 billion in weapons the US sent to Ukraine, a watchdog report found.
- More than $1 billion of a $1.69 billion worth of weapons sent to Ukraine remain "delinquent."
- It's not the first time the Department of Defense has lost tracks of weaponry sent to other countries.
The Pentagon hasn't been properly keeping track of $1 billion in missiles and other weapons the United States has sent to Ukraine in aid of the Eastern European country's defense against Russian forces, according to a new report by the Defense Department Inspector General.
And it's not the first time the Department of Defense, one of the most well-funded federal agencies, has lost tabs on weaponry and equipment sent to other countries like Iraq, Kuwait, and Yemen.
According to the newly released and partially redacted report from the Defense Department Inspector General, more than $1 billion of a $1.69 billion worth of weapons, including attack drones, night-vision devices, and Javelin anti-tank missiles, that were sent to Ukraine remain "delinquent."
The Department of Defense "did not maintain an accurate inventory" of the weapons designated for "enhanced end-use monitoring" (EEUM) that were delivered to Ukraine and "did not fully comply" with requirements, according to the Inspector General's report.
It is unclear exactly how many weapons were considered delinquent, but the report said that "high rates of delinquency may correlate with an inability to maintain complete accountability of the EEUM-designating defense articles, which, in turn, may increase the risk of theft or diversion."
"It was beyond the scope of our evaluation to determine whether there has been diversion of such assistance," the report added.
The report explained that getting a "complete picture" of the EEUM-designated weapons 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."
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his war against Ukraine in February 2022, the US has given more than $44 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. The Defense Department inspector general's report comes as Republicans in Congress have been blocking new aid to Ukraine.
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder commented on the Inspector General's report during a press briefing on Thursday, saying, "We've appreciated working with them to ensure that we do have full accountability of the process."
Ryder explained that at this time there remains "no credible evidence of illicit diversion of US-provided, advanced conventional weapons from Ukraine."
The Pentagon spokesman said "things have been implemented" to address the issues in the report, which include "the use of handheld equipment scanners, leveraging partner nation reporting, collecting of inventory."
Meanwhile, the US has lost track of a staggering amount of weaponry sent overseas in the past.
The US military failed to properly monitor more than $1 billion worth of arms transfers in Iraq and Kuwait, according to a previously declassified Defense Department audit that was obtained by Amnesty International in 2017.
Additionally, in 2009, a report by the US Government Accountability Office found that the Pentagon had failed to track the thousands of weapons provided to security forces in Afghanistan.
The Washington Post reported in 2015 that the Pentagon could not account for more than $500 million in military aid given to Yemen.
And this past November, the Pentagon flunked an annual audit of its accounting systems for the sixth year in a row.
"Things are showing progress, but it's not enough," Defense Department Comptroller Mike McCord told reporters at the time, according to Reuters.
Update January 12, 2024: This story has been updated with comments made by Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder at a press conference Thursday evening.