U.S. loses track of $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine

WASHINGTON — Shortfalls in required monitoring by American officials mean that the U.S. cannot track more than $1 billion in weapons and military equipment provided to Ukraine to fight Russia, according to a Pentagon audit released Thursday.

The findings mean that 59% of $1.7 billion in defense gear the U.S. has given Ukraine remains “delinquent,” the report by the office of the inspector general, the Defense Department’s watchdog body, said.

While Biden administration officials stressed Thursday that there was no evidence the weapons had been stolen, the audit undermines two years of lavish assurances that rigorous monitoring would keep U.S. military aid to Ukraine from being misused. That’s despite the country’s longstanding reputation for corruption.

“There remains no credible evidence of illicit diversion of U.S.-provided advanced conventional weapons from Ukraine,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. “The fact is, we observed the Ukrainians employing these capabilities on the battlefield. We’re seeing them use them effectively.”

President Biden is struggling to win congressional approval for more U.S. military and financial aid to Ukrainian forces, which are trying to drive out Russian troops who invaded in February 2022. The audit findings are likely to make Biden’s task even harder.

House Republican opposition for months has stalled Biden’s request to Congress for $105 billion more for Ukraine, Israel and other national security objectives. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that there was no funding left for additional military aid packages to Ukraine.

The U.S. has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, including big systems such as air defense.

The end-use monitoring was required for gear that had sensitive technology and was smaller, making it more vulnerable to arms trafficking.

The report said the Defense Department had failed to maintain an accurate serial number inventory of those articles.