Pentagon accounting error overvalued Ukraine military aid by $3 billion

The Pentagon is still determining the total over-valuation but assesses it to be at least $3 billion, which effectively means that another $3 billion worth of weapons is now available to be given to Ukraine, according to a report

FP Staff May 19, 2023 13:07:27 IST

Pentagon accounting error overvalued Ukraine military aid by $3 billion

A Ukrainian tank rides near Bakhmut, an eastern city, where fierce battles against Russian forces have been taking place, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on 12 May, 2023. AP File

The Pentagon on Thursday revealed that it has overcounted the value of the military aid the United States sent to Ukraine by at least $3 billion, according to a report.

According to The Hill report, citing a defense official, the Pentagon is still determining the total over-valuation but assesses it to be at least $3 billion, which effectively means that another $3 billion worth of weapons is now available to be given to Ukraine

The Wall Street Journal had first reported that the Defence Department overestimated the value of the missiles, vehicles, ammunition and other equipment it sent from US stocks to Ukraine due to an accounting error.

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In a statement to The Hill, Deputy Defence press secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed the overestimation.

“During our regular oversight process of presidential drawdown packages, the Department discovered inconsistencies in equipment valuation for Ukraine,” The Hill quoted Singh as saying in a statement, referring to the authority that allows the administration to pull directly from its military inventory.

Singh said that, in some cases, the Pentagon used replacement costs to calculate the aid, rather than the weapons’ value when it was purchased.

That drove up the cost of each package – because new weaponry costs more than old weaponry – and resulted in the false assumption that more of the funding had been used.

“This over-valuation has not constrained our support to Ukraine nor impacted our ability to flow capabilities to the battlefield,” she added.

According to the report, the admission also means that the Biden administrations won’t have to ask Congress to authorise more aid for Ukraine in the near future — an ask that some on Capitol Hill believe could strain US weapons stocks beyond what is safe for national security.

Republican lawmakers express frustration

Still, some Republican lawmakers expressed frustration Thursday at the error, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.).

“The revelation of a three-billion-dollar accounting error discovered two months ago and only today shared with Congress is extremely problematic, to say the least,” The Hill quoted the the two saying in a joint statement.

“These funds could have been used for extra supplies and weapons for the upcoming counteroffensive, instead of rationing funds to last for the remainder of the fiscal year,” they added.

Before this new information came to light the Pentagon had said that there was just over $2.3 billion remaining available for Presidential Drawdown Authority for Ukraine.

Now, due to this revelation, there is about $5.3 billion still available, far more than even the largest single package provided to Ukraine.

With inputs from agencies

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