The Defense Department has not kept track of more than $1 billion worth of specialized military equipment sent to Ukraine, according to an inspector general report released on Thursday.
The report details how roughly $1 billion of the total $1.69 billion worth of defense equipment rated for specialized monitoring sent to Ukraine from the United States and partner nations is “delinquent” as of July 2023, according to the DoD’s enhanced end-use monitoring (EEUM) requirements. Delinquent means that the equipment has not been inventoried within a specific time frame.
“While there has been significant improvement in the delinquency rate for inventorying this sensitive equipment, persistent gaps as identified in our evaluation may correlate with an inability to maintain complete accountability for this critical U.S. security assistance,” IG Robert Storch said.
The purpose of the EEUM program is to “safeguard designated defense articles that require additional layers of verifications and protections.” According to the Pentagon, equipment is rated for EEUM if it is fitted with specialized technology or could be especially vulnerable to misuse if it falls into the wrong hands.
“High rates of delinquency may correlate with an inability to maintain complete accountability of the EEUM-designated defense articles, which, in turn, may increase the risk of theft or diversion,” the report said.
The inspector general noted that the U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation-Ukraine had so far been unable to conduct inventories within 90 days of much of the equipment sent to Ukraine. The report said that DoD personnel did not update equipment databases “in a timely manner” or maintain “an accurate inventory” of the defense articles sent to Ukraine. For example, more than half of the Stinger gripstocks given to Ukraine could not be accounted for as of February 10, 2023.
In response to the inspector general’s findings, the DoD has said that wartime conditions have made it difficult to track the weapons and argued that it could “reasonably conclude that Ukraine is in compliance with requirements with respect to use, transfer, and security of items.”
The report noted that it did not assess whether there had been a “diversion” of American military equipment once arriving in Ukraine but noted that the criminal investigation branch of the inspector general’s office “continues to investigate allegations of criminal conduct with regard to U.S. security assistance to Ukraine.”
Previous reporting has indicated that criminal gangs in Ukraine have illicitly obtained military weapons as military aid from Western countries poured in. In one instance, members of an organized crime group controlled by a Russian official were able to obtain ammo and a grenade launcher after joining a volunteer Ukraine battalion.
Beginning in 2014, the United States sent Ukraine a total of $50 billion worth of military equipment, which ramped up after the war between Russia and Ukraine started in February 2022. Congress is considering sending more military aid to Ukraine but has been held up as Republicans push for border security funding.
