US House Lawmakers Demand Documents From Austin Over Failure to Track Ukraine Military Aid

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US House lawmakers demand that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin provide them with documents related to US military assistance to Ukraine after a watchdog report found that the United States has failed to track more than $1 billion in military gear provided to Kiev, according to a letter released on Wednesday.

The letter was authored by members of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

"Following an Inspector General report revealing the Department of Defense (DoD) has failed to track military weapons and articles going to Ukraine, the lawmakers are calling on DoD Secretary Lloyd Austin to provide documents and information to understand how the Department intends to mitigate the vulnerabilities of military assistance to Ukraine," the letter said.

Western countries have provided hundreds of billions of dollars worth of aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia's special military operation in February 2022. Aid shipments began in 2022 with artillery munitions and training and have escalated to include tanks, advanced air-defense systems, missiles and cluster munitions.

The Kremlin has consistently warned against the West's continued arms deliveries to Ukraine, saying that they only prolong the conflict, adding that Western military equipment will be eventually destroyed. Moscow also cautioned that NATO countries “are playing with fire” by providing Kiev with arms.

Even if US doubles its output of ammo it won't turn the tide of the Ukraine conflict

"[The US] can help Ukraine cope with its munition needs, but that is not the same thing as saying this measure will turn the tide in the Ukraine [conflict] and put Ukraine at a distinct… pic.twitter.com/AZsT4NexnW

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) February 6, 2024

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. According to him, the US and NATO are directly involved in the Ukraine conflict by supplying weapons and training soldiers in the UK, Germany, Italy and other countries.