A Pentagon watchdog’s report unveiled that the US Navy has encountered recurring accounting errors, leading to a staggering overspend of hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. According to the report released by the US Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (OIG), the Navy exceeded its budget for Ukraine supplemental assistance three times during fiscal year 2022.
Despite an allocated sum of $1.7 billion for Ukraine, the Navy overshot its allotment by a substantial $398.9 million due to persistent issues with its automated accounting system. These errors necessitated manual corrections, underscoring the Navy’s lack of effective internal controls to prevent such overspending. The report cautioned that while resources were available to cover the shortfall, future funds might not suffice.
This financial misstep comes against the backdrop of the US emerging as a significant donor to Ukraine, having allocated approximately $113 billion since the conflict’s onset. However, concerns about fund mismanagement have escalated, fueled by previous findings of inadequate tracking of military equipment worth $1 billion and ongoing investigations into potential theft, fraud, or corruption related to aid to Ukraine.
The OIG highlighted over 50 cases of concern, including instances where items disappeared from shipping manifests upon crossing the border into Ukraine. Russia has consistently criticized these arms shipments, warning of potential spillover into the black market and the hands of criminal elements and terrorists.
