WASHINGTON (AP) — A small number of U.S. military forces inside Ukraine have recently begun doing onsite inspections to ensure that Ukrainian troops are properly accounting for the Western-provided weapons they receive, a senior U.S. defense official told Pentagon reporters Monday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide a military update, would not say where the inspections are taking place or how close to the battlefronts the U.S. troops are getting. The official said U.S. personnel can’t do inspections “close to the front lines,” but said they are going where security conditions allow.
The official said there have been several inspections, and they are being done by the U.S. Defense attache and the U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation team that is in Kyiv. So far, the official said, Ukrainian officials have been transparent about the weapons’ distribution and are supporting the inspections.
Related Story: US forces now on the ground in Ukraine
The effort is part of a broader U.S. campaign, announced last week by the State Department, meant to make sure that weapons provided to Ukraine don’t end up in the hands of Russian troops, their proxies or other extremist groups.
Earlier this year, the U.S. said a small number of U.S. military troops had returned to the embassy in Kyiv to do security and other tasks. U.S. President Joe Biden has ruled out any combat role for U.S. forces inside Ukraine.
U.S. officials have faced persistent questions from some members of Congress over how the administration is accounting for the billions of dollars in arms that have been sent to Ukraine over the past year. But the administration had been reluctant to detail its work on that front due to concerns about the state of the conflict and fears it might tip off would-be smugglers to potential evasion techniques.
The State Department plan includes short-, medium- and longer-term initiatives to bolster U.S. and Ukrainian oversight of transferred weapons, particularly more advanced missile systems and anti-aircraft devices, as well as to improve Ukraine’s aviation and border security to combat the misuse of weapons and prevent possible arms trafficking.
The State Department said that so far Ukraine’s intense demand for weapons on the battlefield appears to be impeding black-market proliferation of small arms, portable air defense systems and anti-tank weapons such as Javelins. It said the main problem has been the seizure of weapons by Russian forces as they take ground, and warned that Moscow can use them to develop countermeasures or conduct false-flag operations.
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Joe’s Crime family government accountants sent to insure Joe is getting his 10% back to the Big Guy, and to insure the Burisma boys keep their mouths shut about Hunter and his Ukrainian laundered JObs and kickbacks. I often wonder how much Obama got for allowing the Crimea to get into Russian hands in 2014. If he had paid a little then to stop the Russians, we would not be paying tens of billions now.
Maybe that’s WHY joe’s doing this now.. Obama REGRETTING NOT stepping in, before russia seized crimea..
Joe is going to drag us into it yet.
Yes, any Americans there have to be high value targets for the Russians. Once again, Biden sets us up to fail.
And his planned retreat will make the Afghanistan weapons redistribution of military weapons and technology to our worn enemies look like amateur hour, while the Biden crime family Swiss Bank Accounts break more records than the planned violence what Nancy’s kneecaps missed out on.
When Russian missiles kill some of those American troops what will Biden’s one world backers have him say and do? Will nutty Putin actually use his tactical nuclear weapons knowing that it could be the start of WWIII? The American people better be prepared for a dangerous time in their lives.
Part of me fears, THAT IS THEIR goal.
State Department, meant to make sure that weapons provided to Ukraine don’t end up in the hands of Russian troops, their proxies or other extremist groups.
Hummm………
Like this treasonous, corrupt, sock-puppet president gave billions of dollars worth of weapons to our enemy the Taliban in Afghanistan??
Can we even trust the state dept anymore?
I think we are being lied to again. Next we’ll be putting troops on the front lines to “monitor” the use of weapons so they don’t fall into the “wrong hands”
Smells like what happen in Viet Nam right before we took over the responsibilities of the French and entered into a police action against the peoples republic of north Viet Nam.
OR the ‘policing’ actions we took in Korea, before THAT became a war.
The US cannot afford a war; do not have fuel to run our equipment with; not much food for our troops; newest defenders are too busy getting a sex change and cannot go to combat might infect the hot dog/hot dog bun; our best equipment already left behind and what we do have has gone out so bg guy gets his money but besides that the economy is doing great, inflation only moved a little degree, plus we now have 4 more states to defend us. Thank you brandon.
SO true. With billions LEFT in afgan, and millions being sent TO ukraine, does our military even HAVE enough weapons and ammo to fight with?
Add to that, all the fuel shortage issues, especially with Diesel??