The Pentagon on Tuesday overestimated the value of the weapons it sent to Ukraine over the past two years by $6.2 billion, about double previous estimates, and will consequently be used for future security measures. announced that there was a surplus.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said after a detailed investigation into the accounting error, the military department used replacement costs, rather than the book value, of equipment that it withdrew from Pentagon stock and sent to Ukraine. said it turned out. She said the final calculations showed a $3.6 billion error in the current fiscal year and a $2.6 billion error in the 2022 fiscal year ending Sept. 30. rice field.
As a result, the ministry now has additional funds in its coffers that can be used to assist Ukraine in its counterattack against Russia. And that comes as the fiscal year draws to a close and Congressional funding is starting to dwindle.
“It’s just the money we’ve allocated that’s coming back in,” in preparation for future Pentagon drawdowns, Mr. Singh said.
The revelations come as Ukraine advances the initial stages of a counteroffensive to drive Kremlin forces out of territory it has occupied since its February 2022 all-out invasion. Counterattacks were made and reinforced against mine-dense terrain. According to Ukrainian military commander-in-chief Valery Zardini, it is the construction of defensive fortifications.
The Pentagon has repeatedly used the president’s reversal powers to remove weapons, ammunition and other equipment from shelves so that supplies can reach Ukraine much faster than they can go through the purchasing process.
Based on previous estimates released on June 13, the US has pledged more than $40 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. Using the new calculations, the US actually provided aid less than her $34 billion.
Officials have been unable to disclose the exact amount of this withdrawal or the amount remaining in the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides long-term funding for weapons purchases, including some large air defense systems.
The United States has approved four rounds of aid totaling about $113 billion to Ukraine in response to Russia’s aggression, some of which will be used to supply U.S. military equipment sent to the front lines. In December, Congress approved the latest aid totaling about $45 billion for Ukraine and its NATO allies. The package is designed to last until the end of the fiscal year in September, but is highly dependent on what happens on the ground, especially as a new counterattack gains momentum.
President Biden and senior national security leaders have repeatedly said the United States will help Ukraine “as long as necessary” to repel Russian forces. The administration has privately warned Ukrainian officials that the patience of a narrowly divided Congress and the American people is limited on the costs of a war with no clear end in sight.
Lawmakers have repeatedly pressed Pentagon leaders about how closely the U.S. is tracking aid to Ukraine to keep it from being tampered with or falling into the wrong hands. rice field. The Pentagon said it has a “robust program” to track aid as it crosses the border into Ukraine and, once it arrives, monitors it according to the sensitivity of each weapon system.
Singh said the accounting error would not affect the continued delivery of aid to Ukraine.
