Pentagon finds accounting errors worth $2 billion in aid for Ukraine
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The U.S. Defense Department has identified another $2 billion worth of accounting errors in its estimations of military aid sent to Ukraine, a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report revealed on July 25.
The Pentagon announced on June 21, 2023 that it had overestimated the value of arms sent to Ukraine over the past two years by $6.2 billion. Now, the discovery of additional errors brings the total unspent sum to $8.2 billion.
The Pentagon has struggled to accurately estimate the cost of defense articles shipped to Ukraine, the GAO report said.
U.S. Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) allows the president to allocate equipment from U.S. stocks, such as ammunition, vehicles, and medical supplies, to respond to crises abroad. PDA arises from the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
The Pentagon's "efforts to properly value defense articles for drawdown are hampered because the Foreign Assistance Act does not clearly define certain terms and DOD lacks PDA-specific valuation guidance," according to the GAO.
Due to the errors, the Defense Department can send a further $2 billion in weapons to Ukraine to cover the amount already approved by U.S. President Joe Biden.
The U.S. Defense Department announced on July 3 a new package of military aid for Ukraine worth $150 million. The assistance includes air defense interceptors, ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), artillery rounds, and other critical capabilities drawn from U.S. stocks.
