Pentagon Made Accounting Blunder, Overvalued Ukraine Military Aid By $3 Billion

The Pentagon overestimated the cost of the ammunition, missiles, and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by around $3 billion, a Senate aide and a defense official revealed to Reuters on Thursday, adding that the blunder may lead to more weaponry sent to Ukraine for the country's defense against Russia.

Reuters cited defense officials who said that the error resulted from assigning a higher-than-warranted value on weaponry that was taken from U.S. stocks and then shipped to Ukraine. 

"We've discovered inconsistencies in how we value the equipment we've given," defense personnel told the outlet.  

"The Department of Defense's change in evaluating the costs of arms sent to Ukraine is a major mistake," U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Reuters. 

"Its effect would be to underestimate future needs for our European allies. Our priority should be a Ukrainian victory over Putin. Unilaterally altering military aid calculations is an attempt at deception and undermines this goal," he added.

According to one defense official, it is possible that the amount of overvalued weaponry could grow beyond $3 billion as the Pentagon examines the situation more thoroughly, Reuters reported. 

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Senior defense officials told the outlet that the Pentagon used replacement cost to value the weapons aid, instead of the weaponry's value when it was purchased and depreciated.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday during the G7 summit. In addition, Biden announced a new security assistance package to Ukraine. 

"The United States continues to do all we can to strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself," Biden said, citing his recent decision to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine and to train Ukrainian pilots on the aircraft. 

The U.S. president said the new security assistance package — which a senior U.S. administration official noted earlier would total $375 million — would include ammunition, artillery, and vehicles.

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