WASHINGTON — Shortfalls in required monitoring by American officials mean the U.S. cannot track more than $1 billion in weapons and military equipment provided to Ukraine to fight invading Russian forces, according to a Pentagon audit released Thursday.
The findings mean that 59% of $1.7 billion in defense gear that the U.S. has provided Ukraine and was directed to guard against misuse or theft remained “delinquent,” the report by the Defense Department’s office of the inspector-general, the watchdog body for the Pentagon, 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 from the administration that rigorous monitoring would keep U.S. military aid given 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,” Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. Citing what he said was Russian disinformation to the contrary, Ryder added, “The fact is, we observed the Ukrainians employing these capabilities on the battlefield. We’re seeing them use them effectively.”
President Joe Biden is already struggling to win congressional approval for more U.S. military and financial aid to Ukrainian government forces, which are…
