The Pentagon acknowledged on Tuesday that it had overestimated the value of weapons sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion over the past two years.
This amount is double the initial estimate and it has resulted in a surplus that will be used for future security packages.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Trump’s Trial For The Classified Documents Case Is Tentatively Set For August
According to Sabrina Singh, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, an in-depth investigation of the accounting error revealed that the military services used replacement costs rather than the equipment’s book value when it was shipped to Ukraine from Pentagon stocks.
She stated that the final figures show an error of $2.6 billion in the 2022 fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, and $3.6 billion in the current fiscal year.
As a consequence of this, the department now possesses additional funds that it can put to use to assist Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s counteroffensive. Additionally, it comes at a time when the fiscal year ends and congressional funding is beginning to decrease.
Singh stated, “It’s just going to go back into the pot of money that we have allocated” for the upcoming drawdowns of Pentagon stock.
The information becomes available as Ukraine advances through the initial stages of its counteroffensive to drive the Kremlin’s forces from the territory they have occupied since a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
According to Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, the counteroffensive has encountered heavily mined terrain and reinforced defensive fortifications.
In the meantime, Russia has been bombarding the Kyiv region with dozens of Shahid drones that explode, exposing flaws in the country’s air defenses after nearly 16 months of war. According to officials, 32 of Russia’s 35 drones were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses early Tuesday.
To expedite the delivery of weapons, ammunition, and other equipment to Ukraine, the Pentagon has repeatedly used the presidential drawdown authority to remove them from storage.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States has provided more than $40 billion in security assistance, according to previous estimates released on June 13. According to the new calculation, The United States has provided less than $34 billion in aid.
Officials have been unable to provide precise figures regarding the amount of money still available for drawdowns or the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which includes funding for the purchase of weapons over a more extended period of time, including some of the more substantial air defense systems.
In response to Russia’s invasion, the United States has approved four rounds of $113 billion worth of aid to Ukraine. Some of this money will be used to restock U.S. military equipment sent to the front lines.
In December, the most recent round of aid for Ukraine and NATO allies, totaling approximately $45 billion, was approved by Congress. Even though the package was meant to last until September, when the fiscal year ends, a lot depends on what happens on the ground, especially as the new counteroffensive gets more aggressive.
President Joe Biden and his senior national security officials have stated on multiple occasions that the United States will assist Ukraine in repelling the Russian forces “as long as it takes.” Administration officials have privately advised Ukrainian officials that the American public’s and Congress’s patience for the costs of a war with no clear end is limited.
The leaders of the Defense Department have been pressed on numerous occasions by members of Congress to explain how closely the United States monitors its aid to Ukraine to ensure that it does not fall victim to fraud or end up in the wrong hands.
Depending on the sensitivity of each weapon system, the Pentagon has stated that it has a “robust program” to monitor the aid as it enters Ukraine and once it is there.
According to Singh, the accounting error will not affect the delivery of aid to Ukraine now.
