Pentagon Watchdog: U.S. Failed to Track Over $1 Billion in Weapons for Ukraine

A Pentagon watchdog determined that American diplomats and officials in the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) failed to properly track over $1 billion worth of weapons provided to Ukraine.

As the Daily Caller reports, the inspector general’s investigation determined that the DOD surveilled nearly 40,000 items that were considered sensitive and vulnerable to smugglers. As of June 2nd, 2023, at least $1.699 billion worth of items had been given to Ukraine by the U.S., with the items qualifying for enhanced end-use monitoring. The DOD failed to produce full inventory reports on 69% of the total value.

As a result of the failure to keep proper inventory or otherwise record the information in a database, the items in question may be at greater “risk of theft or diversion,” the report, released Thursday, declared. “Achieving a complete picture of EEUM-designated defense articles in Ukraine will be difficult as the inventory continues to change, and accuracy and completeness will likely only become more difficult over time.”

The items that fall under the category of end-use monitoring (EUM) include Javelin anti-tank weapons, Stinger anti-aircraft weapons, one-way suicide attack drones, and night-vision goggles. Of these, the U.S. gave Ukraine about 10,000 Javelins, 25,600 Stingers, 750 suicide drones, and 23,000 night vision goggles.

A copy of the report was also sent to lawmakers on Wednesday.

In the end, the inspector general’s report could not determine whether or not the weapons had actually been stolen by arms dealers, admitting that “it was beyond the scope of our evaluation to determine whether there has been diversion of such assistance.”

Such failure to keep proper records, and the subsequent risk of weapons falling into the hands of rogue actors, has further fueled criticism of the Biden Administration’s “blank-check” policy of giving Ukraine anything and everything they ask for as it carries out its war against Russia. The war, which started in February of 2022, has grown increasingly unpopular the longer it drags on, with more voices now calling for a peaceful resolution that may include Ukraine giving up some of its territory to Russia.