US Military Falls Short in Maintenance, Coordination of Arms Stocks for Ukraine - Watchdog

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US fell short of military standards in the maintenance and coordination of pre-positioned stocks of weapons issued to support Ukraine, the Defense Department inspector general said in a report.

"We found that the 405 AFSB [Army Field Support Brigade] can improve its equipment maintenance and coordination processes," the report said on Monday.

"Maintenance and coordination shortfalls occurred because 405 AFSB lacked clearly defined and consistent procedures during the APS‑2 equipment issuance at the equipment configuration and handover area."

In an interview published on February 16, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told the Financial Times the United States is reviewing its weapons stockpiles and may have to increase military spending after seeing the high rate at which ammunition has been used in the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier in February, the Wall Street Journal reported US senior oversight officials are going to press for the deployment of auditors and investigators directly onto the battlefield in Ukraine to ramp up US security assistance monitoring on the ground.

The US has committed more than $32 billion in military assistance to Ukraine over the past year under the Biden administration, including 38 HIMARS, a Patriot air defense battery, eight National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, 31 Abrams tanks, 109 Bradley combat vehicles, 8,500 Javelin anti-armor systems, 232 howitzers, and 1,600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, the Pentagon said last week.

Overall, US Congress in 2022 alone approved more than $100 billion in military and financial assistance to Ukraine.