Pentagon overestimates the value of weapons sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion
Pentagon accounting error overestimates the value of weapons sent to Ukraine by 6.2 BILLION – a mistake that drove up the cost of every new aid package
- An accounting error left the Pentagon with more than $6 billion in unspent aid to Ukraine
- The mistake occurred because officials used the cost of new weapons to calculate the cost, as opposed to the shelf stock the US actually sent to Ukraine
- The $6 billion in unused aid dollars will lessen the need for Congress to approve more aid to Ukraine before the end of the fiscal year
The Pentagon said an accounting error resulted in a $6.2 billion overestimate of the value of weapons sent to Ukraine over the past two years as the European nation fends off a Russian invasion.
The significant error means that there is a surplus of funds available for future military aid packages sent to Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Sabrina Singh told the press that the multibillion-dollar mistake was a result of military services using replacement costs rather than the book value of equipment sent to Ukraine.
That mistake drove up the cost of each new aid package, as new weapons are more expensive than old ones, and therefore led relevant persons to believe that more of the approved funding had been used than actually spent.
The Pentagon admitted on Tuesday that there was a $6.2 billion accounting error in the amount of strategic aid the US has sent to Ukraine over the past two years.
Military aid, delivered as part of the United States’ security assistance to Ukraine, is unloaded from a plane at Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine
The discovery of the flaw was discovered near the end of fiscal year 2023, allowing the Pentagon to spend an additional $6.2 billion on military aid to Ukraine next fiscal year.
The Defense Department often uses the so-called Presidential Withdrawal Authority to get weapons to Ukraine faster than they would have to if they went through the normal bureaucratic process.
It allows the DoD to pull supplies from shelves or stockpiles and send them directly to Ukraine.
The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, run by the Pentagon, aims to provide long-term financing for purchases such as air defense systems.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the US has pledged more than $40 billion in security relief funds — that is, money for long-term defense projects — to Ukraine, according to the Associated Press. Now factoring in the Pentagon’s miscalculation, that figure is more like $34 billion.
Officials have approved nearly $113 billion in funding for Ukraine across four rounds — some of that funding is earmarked to replenish equipment used on the front lines.
US Marines and British Royal Marines conduct a landing-from-sea exercise during Baltops 23 military exercise near Ventspils, Latvia, June 6, 2023
Lithuania’s military aid, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, delivered as part of the security support package for Ukraine, is unloaded from a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine
Members of Congress have urged the Department of Defense to keep a closer eye on the aid the US sends to Ukraine so that US tax dollars don’t end up in the wrong hands.
The Pentagon has assured affected members that a “robust program” exists to track all aid entering Ukraine and then use it to monitor it while it is there.
Singh clarified that the accounting error will not affect the delivery of US aid to Ukraine.
The White House currently has no plans to ask Congress for additional aid to Ukraine before the end of the fiscal year in September.