Ukraine: “Accounting error” results in an additional $6 billion in US arms for Ukraine
By Ahmad Hadizat Omayoza, Mamos Nigeria
The United States government claims that it overestimated the value of the weapons it sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion, which is roughly double the initial estimates. As a result, there is a surplus that will be used for future security packages.
According to Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, an in-depth investigation into the accounting error revealed that the equipment that was pulled from stocks was valued at book value rather than at replacement cost.
In May, the Pentagon made a similar declaration, stating that it had overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles, and other equipment by approximately $3 billion, and that the figure could rise with additional investigation. On Tuesday, Singh stated that the final calculations showed an error of $2.6 billion in the 2022 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, and $3.6 billion in the current fiscal year.
As a result, the department now has more money available to assist Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s counteroffensive. It occurred at a time when the fiscal year was coming to an end and congressional funding was beginning to decrease.
According to Singh, “it’s just going to go back into the pot of money that we have allocated for the future Pentagon stock drawdowns.”
In order to expedite the delivery of weapons, ammunition, and other equipment to Ukraine, the Pentagon has repeatedly made use of the presidential drawdown authority to remove them from storage.
Since Russia invaded, the United States had pledged more than $40 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, according to estimates made public on June 13. The US has actually provided less than $34 billion in aid, according to the new calculation.
Officials have been unable to provide precise figures regarding the amount of money that is still available for drawdowns or the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which provides funding for the purchase of weapons over a longer 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 approximately $113 billion in aid to Ukraine. Some of this money will be used to replenish US military equipment that was sent to the front lines. Congress endorsed the most recent round of help in December, totalling generally $45bn for Ukraine and Nato partners. Even though the package was meant to last until September, when the fiscal year comes to an end, a lot depends on what happens on the ground, especially as the new counteroffensive gets more aggressive.
The United States will assist Ukraine for “as long as it takes” to repel the Russian invasion, as President Joe Biden and his senior national security leaders have repeatedly stated. Administration officials have privately advised Ukrainian officials that the American public and a narrowly divided Congress can only endure so much for the costs of a war with no clear end.
Individuals from Congress have over and over squeezed protection division pioneers on how intently the US is following its guide to Ukraine to guarantee that it isn’t dependent upon extortion or winding up in some unacceptable 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.
