DISINFO: The Pentagon proved that Ukraine is stealing Western weapons
SUMMARY
Checks on Washington's aid to Kyiv led to arrests and criminal charges, according to a report by the Pentagon's inspector general. American and other foreign media began to talk about the fact that US military assistance to Ukraine is associated with major thefts back in 2022. Washington placed most of the blame for this on Kyiv.
RESPONSE
This is a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that is a part of a disinformation campaign against arms deliveries to Ukraine. This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The disinformation comes as the Pentagon's Special Inspector General releases a quarterly report covering the period from October to December 2023. The report examines the supply of US military aid to Ukraine as part of the response to the Russian invasion.
The document does not mention Ukraine using Western weapons for inappropriate purposes. Effective cooperation with Ukraine is emphasised, as it provided the inspectors with the necessary data. It is noted that the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv conducted limited monitoring of the end use of supplies in Ukraine, "as much as the evolving security situation allowed." The report contains no evidence of misuse of weapons by Ukraine.
The investigative agencies of the Department of Defence and other US agencies have created a working group in Ukraine to investigate cases of fraud and corruption. Since February 2022, these agencies have initiated 57 investigations, 14 of which have been closed and 43 remain open. While some violations were recorded on the territory of US military bases in Europe - the report does not report any violations recorded in Ukraine (page 17-18 of the report).
The White House also noted the absence of evidence of improper use of weapons provided to Ukraine. “The report noted there’s no evidence of any sort of widescale diversion or illicit — illicit diversion of any of the material that’s been going on to Ukraine” emphasised US National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby.
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