The United States overestimated the cost of military equipment sent to Ukraine by more than $6 billion, the US Department of Defense said on Tuesday, Reuters and Agerpres reported.

HIMARS systemPhoto: US Air Force / Zuma Press / Profimedia Images

The audit found “inconsistencies” in the evaluation of equipment sent from the United States since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said.

“In a significant number of cases, our services used replacement value instead of net list value, thus overestimating equipment removed from US warehouses and delivered to Ukraine,” the Pentagon spokeswoman explained.

According to her, US military aid to Kyiv was overstated by $2.6 billion for the 2022 fiscal year, and $3.6 billion for the 2023 fiscal year.

Sabrina Singh emphasized that “mistakes in assessment” do not limit “the provision of support to Ukraine” by the United States. The total value of the military aid provided to Ukraine by the USA at the beginning of May was estimated at 37.6 billion dollars, now it should be revised downwards by 6.2 billion dollars.

The American military sent essential equipment to Ukraine

The US is considered Ukraine’s most important ally in its fight against the Russian invasion, supplying Kyiv with numerous important defensive and offensive equipment, including Javelin man-portable anti-tank systems (before the war), HIMARS multiple-launch systems or Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.

Videos that have appeared on social networks in recent days show that the American “Bradley” is a key component of the mechanized operations that the Ukrainian military is conducting in the south of the country as part of the long-awaited offensive.

In January, US President Joe Biden announced that the US would also supply Ukraine with Abrams tanks, but they have not yet arrived in Ukraine. In mid-May, the Pentagon announced that all the promised American tanks had arrived in Germany, where the Ukrainian military would learn to use them.

In December, the White House confirmed that the US would also send Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine to help the country, led by Volodymyr Zelensky, defend itself against Russian missile and drone attacks.

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