As the war in Ukraine stretches toward its third year, word came that the Pentagon cannot account for over $1 billion in armaments sent to the Kyiv government.

An audit released Thursday showed that a vast quantity of military weapons and hardware is not being properly tracked. Government officials reported that a significant portion of military aid from Washington is off the grid.

Experts increasingly worry that this equipment could fall into the hands of rogue states and even terrorists.

Nikki Haley wants to give more of your tax dollars to Ukraine. Today a report came out from the Pentagon that 40,000 weapons worth $1B that we sent to Ukraine are unaccounted for.

Hey NH, do you want more of your taxes funding Nikki’s war fantasies? pic.twitter.com/oJkHRWTuHb

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 11, 2024

The Pentagon delivered approximately $45 billion in direct military aid to Ukraine since the war with Russia started in February 2022. This included advanced weaponry such as missiles and rockets, air-defense systems, anti-drone systems and a wide array of small arms.

However, there is roughly $1 billion in weapons that were supposed to be tracked that are presently unaccounted for. This is the conclusion of the Defense Department Inspector General.

The total is a staggering 40,000 weapons that the report confirmed as “delinquent.”

The Inspector General reported the DoD “did not maintain an accurate inventory” of the arms shipments intended for “enhanced end-use monitoring (EEUM).

The analysis noted the federal agency “did not fully comply” with requirements for shipping the weapons to Ukraine. It further added that there is an increased risk of “theft and diversion,” though it concluded that determining such an outcome “was beyond the scope of our evaluation.”

Congressional Republicans are holding up further military assistance to Kyiv over a myriad of issues. One prominent concern is the lack of accountability for over $1 billion in arms.

The Pentagon defended its tracking of shipments. Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said there is “no credible evidence of illicit diversion of U.S.-provided, advanced conventional weapons from Ukraine.

Ryder noted that “things have been implemented” to assist with better tracking of military supplies sent from the U.S. 

Some of the enhancements include deploying handheld equipment scanners, better reporting from Ukraine and management of inventory.

This is hardly the first instance of U.S. military aid vanishing into thin air. Over $500 million in aid to Yemen could not be accounted for in 2015, and the Pentagon lost track of thousands of weapons sent to Afghanistan’s previous government.

More recently, a 2017 Defense Department audit confirmed that the U.S. did not accurately monitor over $1 billion in military hardware sent to Iraq and Kuwait.