More than 400 personnel take part in the oversight of Ukraine aid, according to a new report from a US government watchdog, underscoring the massive effort to manage billions of dollars in US assistance.
Congress has appropriated $113.4 billion in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has provided security, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and other countries affected by the war. The money also supports an enlarged US military presence in Europe and the training of the Ukrainian military.
To oversee the interagency effort, the inspectors general from the Defense Department, State Department, and United States Agency for International Development work with 20 other federal agencies and the Ukrainian government. In total, the report said there are more than 400 personnel working across the US, Germany, Ukraine and Europe to audit and evaluate US assistance to Ukraine.
The report comes as some Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have demanded more oversight over Ukraine aid before they agree to any additional funding. Earlier this week, the Senate passed a $95.3 billion foreign aid package that includes assistance to Ukraine, but the bill faces an uncertain future in the US House of Representatives, where Johnson has signaled he will not bring it for a vote.
Johnson met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in December, saying afterwards that the Biden administration wanted “billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight.”
The lengths to which the US has gone to provide that oversight is detailed in the first quarterly report from the Special Inspector General for Operation Atlantic Resolve (OAR), the name for the mission to bolster NATO and support Ukraine. The mission was first launched in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea, but it grew…
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