US failed to track more than $1bn in military gear given to Ukraine, says Pentagon watchdog

Shortfalls in required monitoring by American officials mean the US cannot track more than $1bn in weapons and military equipment provided to Ukraine to fight invading Russian forces, according to a Pentagon audit released on Thursday.

The findings mean that 59 per cent of $1.7bn in defence gear that the US has provided Ukraine and was directed to guard against misuse or theft remained “delinquent," the report by the Defence Department’s office of the inspector-general, the watchdog body for the Pentagon, said.

While Biden administration officials stressed on 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 US military aid given to Ukraine from being misused. That’s despite the country’s long standing reputation for corruption.

“There remains no credible evidence of illicit diversion of US-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, Brig Gen 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 US military and financial aid to Ukrainian government forces, which are struggling to drive out Russian forces that pushed deeper into the country in February 2022. The audit findings are likely to make Mr Biden’s task even harder.

House Republican opposition for months has stalled Mr Biden’s request to Congress for $105bn more for Ukraine, Israel and other national security objectives. National Security