The Pentagon has claimed it considerably overestimated the worth of weapons despatched to Kiev
US Senator Marco Rubio has demanded a complete overview of the help supplied by Washington to Ukraine, amid considerations that the Pentagon is failing to precisely estimate its actual worth.
In a letter launched on Monday, Rubio chided the administration of US President Joe Biden for a latest $3 billion accounting “error” within the Pentagon which meant the worth of kit despatched to Ukraine was supposedly overestimated.
Nonetheless, in response to the Florida senator, the alternative may very well be true because the Pentagon “seems now to be utilizing the depreciated worth of the tools.”
To rectify the problem, Rubio has requested that the Authorities Accountability Workplace conduct a full overview of all tools supplied to Ukraine because the begin of the battle with Russia multiple yr in the past.
“This can guarantee US taxpayers aren’t footing a fair bigger invoice to exchange the tools wanted to defend the US and its pursuits,” the senator said.
The $3 billion accounting error was first reported by Reuters final month. It was later confirmed by the Pentagon, which defined that US officers had evaluated Ukraine-bound tools primarily based on how a lot it will price to exchange the gadgets fully, slightly than on their present worth.
The revelations triggered harsh criticism from Republican lawmakers, with Representatives Michael McCaul and Mike Rogers stating that the funds “may have been used for further provides and weapons for the upcoming [Ukrainian] counteroffensive,” as an alternative of being unfold over the rest of the yr.
The White Home has tried to manage the harm, with Nationwide Safety Advisor Jake Sullivan insisting that it was “not a waste of that $3 billion,” however slightly a tally of how a lot navy tools the US had supplied to Ukraine.
“When you make that adjustment [from replacement to actual costs], it seems we’ve got a further $3 billion that we are able to spend to supply much more weapons to Ukraine,” Sullivan claimed.
Because the begin of the battle, Washington has allotted greater than $100 billion in Ukraine-related spending, together with virtually $40 billion for navy help. Whereas US officers insist that help is being correctly monitored, quite a few Republicans have referred to as for an audit. Consultant Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of many principal proponents of a overview, argued that Americans “don’t know the place all this cash goes.”
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