The Pentagon discovered additional errors in the calculations of ammunition, missiles and other equipment sent to Ukraine, which increased the total amount of incorrectly estimated materials to $8.2 billion, the Reuters news agency reports with reference to a US government report.
The US Department of Defense has faced problems accurately valuing defense goods sent to Ukraine due to unclear accounting definitions, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.
“In 2023, the Pentagon said that staff used ‘replacement value’ instead of ‘depreciated value’ to calculate billions of dollars worth of materials sent to Ukraine. A $6.2 billion mistake opened the way for billions of dollars worth of arms to be sent to Kyiv,” – is going in the material of the agency.
The Pentagon informed the Accounting Chamber that an overstatement of $2 billion was discovered since then. As a result, additional weapons of this amount may be sent to Ukraine.
The US Government Accountability Office, which carried out the calculations, recommended that Congress clarify the definition of cost in the context of defense goods within the presidential arms reduction authority.
In addition, the Audit Chamber made seven recommendations to the Ministry of Defense, urging it to update its instructions and develop component-specific assessment procedures. The department said it agreed with all the recommendations and outlined actions to address these issues.
