A Pentagon report has revealed that lots of military equipment supplied to Ukraine by the United States and other Western nations over the course of Russia's special military operation have fallen into the hands of criminal organizations, volunteer fighters and arms traffickers.
The report by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Defense was first obtained by Military.com through a Freedom of Information Act request. It shows that in the opening months of the conflict back in early 2022, American military forces were unable to properly monitor where much of the military equipment being supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine was ending up. (Related: Ukrainian veterans detail how Kyiv plundered US aid while wasting soldiers and endangering civilians.)
This is a violation of American law governing foreign aid, and the Inspector General's Office suggested that some of the military gear might have fallen into the hands of Russians and criminal organizations.
In one recorded incident, a Russian-led organized crime group operating in Ukraine was able to obtain certain small arms shipped to the country, including a grenade launcher and a heavy machine gun. The group's alleged intent was to use the weapons to destabilize the country.
In another incident, a group of volunteers in a Ukrainian battalion stole more than 60 rifles and nearly 1,000 rounds of ammunition with the intention of selling them on the black market.
And in one other event, a Ukrainian criminal organization posing as a humanitarian aid group illegally imported and then attempted to resell $17,000 worth of bulletproof vests.
Ukrainian intelligence and security organizations claim to have disrupted all of the above-mentioned schemes. But they pointed out the dangers and potential pitfalls associated with providing military aid to Ukraine, especially when the approximately 80 billion euros ($89 billion) worth of military aid entering the country is being sent with little to no proper accountability regarding its use.
Taxpayer-funded US weapons ending up in the hands of criminals
The inspector general's report looked at the military aid the U.S. had sent to Ukraine from February through September 2022. At the time the schemes to smuggle out Western-supplied arms and other military equipment was discovered, the U.S. had already shipped a wide variety of expensive military equipment to Ukraine. These include thousands of launchers for Stinger anti-air missiles and Javelin anti-tank missiles, artillery pieces, more than 10,000 grenade launchers, C-4 explosives, hundreds of thousands of handheld firearms and nearly 60 million rounds of small arms ammunition.
The U.S. and its allies had also supplied Kyiv with larger, more complex systems, including NASAMS surface-to-air short- and medium-range missile launchers, HIMARS rocket launcher systems and the newly developed Phoenix Ghost explosive combat drones.
In a statement, the Pentagon claimed that the U.S. is aware of the risks associated with the "possible illicit diversion" of military aid and is coordinating with Ukrainian authorities to mitigate this risk. The Pentagon spokesperson further claimed that much of the lost military equipment might have been lost when Russia captured Ukrainian territories.
"We are sending weapons to help Ukraine defend itself in an active conflict, and there is a risk these weapons could be captured if territory changes hands – which happens in any way," said the spokesperson.
As of press time, the U.S. has already sent around $42.84 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine, not including the recently approved military aid package worth $1.3 billion that includes four large surface-to-air missile systems, several tactical vehicles and military logistics trucks as well as mine-clearing equipment and artillery rounds.
Learn the latest news coming out of Ukraine at UkraineWitness.com.
Watch this clip from Newsmax as retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt and retired Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer question what the United States hopes to achieve with the billions of taxpayer dollars worth of aid being sent to Ukraine.
This video is from the News Clips channel on Brighteon.com.
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