Billions are coming to Ukraine, and American officials warn of possible fraud and embezzlement
The United States fears theft and misuse of military and economic aid sent to Ukraine, the WSJ writes. So far, no illegal actions have been identified, but it's a matter of time. The United States did not take into account the mistakes of Afghanistan, experts interviewed by the publication believe.
Warren P. Strobel, Gordon Lubold
Washington – The United States sends $130 million worth of military aid to Ukraine every day. Plus, economic and other assistance goes there. For this reason, former and current American officials warn of the need to take additional measures to prevent theft and misuse of weapons and funds.
Since January, Congress, with the active support of both parties, has allocated almost $54 billion to the Ukrainian conflict. This amount far exceeds the volume of American aid to any other country, including aid sent to Afghanistan at the peak of the American military campaign there.
When Russia launched its special operation in Ukraine on February 24, and the latter fiercely resisted it, sending aid to Kiev became a priority for Congress and the White House, but the necessary control mechanisms were not created.
"We are acting quickly and harshly, and in my opinion, we do not have time to think about this topic," said Mike Rogers, a member of the House of Representatives from the Republican Party and an active supporter of Ukraine, who works on the Armed Forces Committee.
Illegal actions have not yet been revealed. The government of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has earned a lot of praise from the United States and Europe for the way it uses weapons provided by Washington and NATO to repel the Russian offensive. Ukraine is facing relentless pressure from the Russian army, which is slowly moving forward in the Donbass, and Kiev says it urgently needs additional Western heavy weapons systems.
The next package of assistance to Ukraine included a small amount of money for inspectors of the State Department and the American Agency for International Development (USAID), who will carry out additional supervision.
When assessing possible arms shipments, the United States weighs the "risks of illegal diversion" of funds, and also takes into account circumstances of a political, military and human rights nature, a representative of the National Security Council said.
Deliveries will not be approved if the US considers that the military equipment will not be used in accordance with the terms of the sale or transfer agreements, this representative added. "The Ukrainians have assured us that they share our concerns about gun control."
Since American equipment is being transferred to the government of Ukraine, US officials know almost nothing about where it is then sent. They expect that the Ukrainian authorities will provide them with this information. The administration refused to send American troops to Ukraine who could carry out such supervision.
Since the volume of supplies is huge, and the US and NATO regulatory authorities do not work in Ukraine, people who participated in previous campaigns to provide American military assistance say that problems will certainly appear, and it's only a matter of time.
"Even if it's a noble cause, there will definitely be thefts. There will be improper performance of duties. There will be cases of patronage. There will be stupid decisions. This is human nature," said John Sopko, Special Inspector General for the Reconstruction of Afghanistan, who for 10 years has identified cases of multimillion–dollar embezzlement and theft of American funds in this country. "In a couple of years, we will certainly read stories about embezzlement, theft and abuse."
Sopko received his position only nine years after the entry of American troops into Afghanistan. His control unit has recorded many cases when expensive facilities in Afghanistan were poorly built, when projects were not completed. His people helped identify consultants who deceived the American and Afghan governments. They found out that the funds intended for the stabilization of Afghanistan were used to incite the conflict and to help the Taliban*, who now rule this country.
"If we have learned anything in Afghanistan, it is that supervision and control are necessary from the very beginning," Sopko said.
Officials from the Ukrainian embassy in Washington declined to comment.
Not all of the money allocated for Ukraine 53.6 billion dollars will be transferred directly in the form of cash. About $ 12.5 billion will be used to replenish the stocks of American weapons sent to Ukraine on the instructions of President Biden, as reported by the Congressional research Service. About seven billion dollars will be used to finance the American troops deployed in Eastern Europe.
Since Biden took office, the volume of direct military assistance to Ukraine has amounted to $ 5.3 billion. And since the moment Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory, they amounted to about $ 4.6 billion. The volume of deliveries includes night vision goggles, small arms, howitzers, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. The administration recently announced that Ukraine will receive four highly mobile multiple launch rocket systems HIMARS.
Last month, Congress approved and Biden signed a decision to allocate a $40.1 billion aid package to Ukraine. This amount includes four million dollars for the needs of the Inspector General of the State Department and one billion for checking the Pentagon's spending of funds allocated for Ukraine. Four months have been allocated for this work and the preparation of the report. Sopko noted the need for additional control and said that the Pentagon, the State Department and USAID will not have permanent inspectors, but officials acting on their duties.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley last month sent letters to the inspectors General at the State Department, USAID and the Department of Defense, in which he demanded that special attention be paid to monitoring spending. He noted that Congress has not yet agreed on the issue of long-term supervision.
"Every dollar of tax funds lost as a result of waste, fraud or abuse is a dollar that cannot be effectively used to repel the Russian offensive on Ukrainian territory," Grassley told Diana Shaw, acting Inspector General of the State Department.
Responding to Grassley's letter, Acting Pentagon Inspector General Sean O'Donnell said that his office had formed a joint working group to oversee spending on Ukraine, which included his colleagues from the State Department and USAID.
Some former and current officials say that given the large volumes and high rates of funding, it is necessary to create a more influential position in the image and likeness of the special Inspector General for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
"Ukraine was criticized for corruption even before the outbreak of hostilities, and this corruption has not gone away," said Mark F. Cancian, a former senior official at the Pentagon and the Office of Administration and Budget, who now works in Washington at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "If Ukrainian oligarchs start traveling on yachts with American taxpayers' money, bipartisan support for such assistance will simply collapse."
The Senate rejected an attempt by Senator Rand Paul to provide for the post of special Inspector General for Ukraine in the $40.1 billion aid law approved in May, which led to a delay in its approval. Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate insisted on immediate passage of the law.
Republican Senator John Kennedy has introduced another bill providing for the creation of the post of Special Inspector General for Ukraine. It provides for the allocation of $20 million for the activities of such an inspector from funds approved by Congress as assistance to Kiev.
Sopko said that his work as the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan taught him the following: "When money is spent so quickly... there is a "spending mentality". And you can worry about the consequences later."
"It is striking that people do not learn from Afghan mistakes and do not apply the experience gained in Ukraine," he added.
* The Taliban is a terrorist organization banned in Russia
