The Joe Biden administration made an accounting error in estimating the value of US military aid to Ukraine to date, freeing up an estimated more than $3 billion in aid, an amount that is likely to reduce what Congress needs Will give pass an additional aid package before the end of the fiscal year in September, several congressional and government officials told CNN.
The error, which was notified Thursday to lawmakers and congressional staffers, sparked dismay among Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees. He believes the mistake overestimated the amount of US support Ukraine had received prior to the retaliatory strike.
“A $3 billion dollar accounting error disclosed two months ago and only shared with Congress today is extremely troubling to say the least. These funds will be used for rationing funds for the remainder of the fiscal year.” instead could have been for additional supplies and weapons for the upcoming retaliation,” Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Mike Rogers, chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, in a statement Thursday.
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Before this new information came to light, the Pentagon had said that just over $2.3 billion was available for Ukraine’s presidential retirement authority. Now, because of this revelation, about $5.3 billion is still available, far more than the largest single package ever offered to Ukraine.
The briefing to Capitol Hill came as the White House told CNN that it currently does not plan to ask Congress for new funding for Ukraine before the end of the fiscal year in late September, a move some lawmakers and congressional leaders have rejected. Along with the employees, the administration officials are worried about money. Will end mid summer.
But now that more money is available, sources in Congress said they are less concerned about the immediate need for a new funding package for Ukraine. He believes the new funding is likely to extend US support for Ukraine until the end of the summer.
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The accounting error occurred because when the US transferred the weapons to Ukraine, they calculated the value of the replacement weapon instead of the value of the existing weapon, defense officials explained. This increased the cost of each package, as new weapons cost more than old weapons, and resulted in the misconception that more money was used.
McCall and Rogers said the administration “must make up for this precious lost time by using these funds to provide Ukraine with the DPICMS and ATACMS it needs to retaliate and win the war.”
The US is opposed to providing Ukraine with military tactical missile systems that can hit targets more than 300 km away, both because the missiles are in limited supply and because the US is concerned that Russia will use them, too provocative It is believed.
The US has also opposed sending cluster munitions, known as dual-purpose advanced conventional munitions or DPICM, to Ukraine, as many countries have fiercely opposed it and the US believes the high risk. Due to the use of cluster munitions there are many disadvantages. They present before the citizens.
