US Defense Department fails to account for 2% of weapons provided to Ukraine since 2014

This is stated in a Pentagon report published in The New York Times.

The accounting violations cover weapons worth more than USD 1 billion, including portable missile systems, ‘kamikaze’ drones, and night vision devices. It does not specify what share of the weapons was not properly accounted for before the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.

The amount of military aid to Ukraine that the Pentagon Inspector General found irregularities in reporting is about 2% of the total USD 50 billion that Ukraine has received from the United States since 2014, most of it after 2022. 

The report indicates that the number of weapons delivered to Ukraine that were not accounted for “may increase the risk of theft or diversion,” which carries the risk of American technology falling into the wrong hands.

At the same time, the Pentagon Inspector General does not provide the relevant facts, as it was beyond the scope of our assessment.

In response to the draft report in November 2023, a representative of the US Department of Defense stated that it was not practical to ensure all necessary accounting procedures in a dynamic and hostile wartime environment.

The limited personnel of the US Department of Defense in Ukraine are unable to conduct a physical inventory, even if access is unrestricted, says the commentary attached to the Pentagon Inspector General's report.

• On December 14, Ukraine's Defense Ministry and the US Embassy agreed on a plan to jointly monitor the weapons provided by partners.