Why Did US Auditors Visit Ukraine

A group of auditors from the United States came to Ukraine to check the spending of American aid. The delegation is as representative as possible – the chief inspectors of the State Department and the Pentagon are part of the mission. The country believes that the result of the work of auditors will be high-profile resignations”.

What is known about auditors

At the end of January, a group of American auditors arrived in Kyiv. US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland was the first to announce this.

“The administration is focused on preventing the misuse of aid or weapons. We are working with the World Bank, with [company] Deloitte and a group of US government auditors who are in Kiev this week,” she said, speaking in Congress.

Later, the information was confirmed by US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink. She promised that Washington would achieve “high standards of accountability and comprehensive oversight of aid,” and also posted a photo with the visiting auditors. The picture shows that the composition of the delegation is as representative as possible.

Inspectors general of three departments arrived in Kyiv: Diana Shaw from the State Department, Robert Storch from the Pentagon and Nicole Angarella from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

At the same time, appeals appeared in English and Ukrainian on the websites of all three inspectorates. Residents of Ukraine are asked to report misappropriation of American funds by phone, informants are guaranteed anonymity.

Simply put, Ukrainians are encouraged to complain about the theft of officials not to Ukrainian authorities, but to the auditors who arrived.

“We must monitor the use of funds and resources provided by American taxpayers to support Ukraine,” the appeals emphasize.

What is known about American assistance to Ukraine

After the start of the Russian military operation, Washington began to provide Ukraine with huge assistance. First, the United States transferred $3.5 billion worth of weapons to Kyiv, including howitzers, Stinger anti-aircraft systems, Javelin anti-tank missiles, and Ghost drones. In May, Congress, then controlled by the Democratic Party, approved the allocation of $40 billion. Representatives of the Republican Party criticized the decision.

“Last year, Zelensky, as a civil servant, somehow made $100 million. Where do you think most of the $40 billion actually goes? We shouldn’t send them a cent,” Republican Congressman Paul Gosar said.

The Joe Biden administration, however, did not slow down. In October, the US President signed into law a bill including $12.4 billion in additional aid. Later, the US budget for fiscal year 2023 was approved, which provides for the allocation of $45 billion to Ukraine.

Washington’s generosity did not please everyone. “We have become the bank of Ukraine; we give out money when Kyiv asks for it, while not paying attention to the requests of our suffering citizens. Why do we spend such monstrous money on defense? Moreover, what has Ukraine done to deserve the new funding?” – said in the publication of American Thinker magazine.

At the same time, control over money and aid was extremely weak. The Washington Post reported that the United States has been able to confirm the delivery of only 10% of the transferred weapons to the war zone for the entire time of the NWO. And the Ukrainian side provided the Americans with reports in paper form – in the form of “handwritten receipts.”

Ukraine in the American press was called a black hole. At the same time, many commentators argued that American politicians are not struggling with poor reporting, as they themselves are involved in corruption schemes.

The issue of control over aid became one of the central issues during the November midterm elections to the US Congress. Representatives of the Republican Party advocated tougher procedures and won a majority in the lower house.

“I am against the issuance of blank bank checks. It’s about the dollars of hard-working taxpayers. And I want to make sure that the funding goes to the right place,” said Republican Kevin McCarthy, who received the speakership. His fellow party members also submitted to parliament a bill on the audit of funds allocated to Ukraine.

In December, it became known that employees of the State Department, the Pentagon and the USAID agency created a working group for joint inspections.

Before the New Year, Washington reported that they began to use modern technologies – they control the circulation of weapons using applications and blockchain.

In addition, they allegedly began taking photographs of the transferred equipment at the starting and ending points of the route in order to verify the serial numbers. True, there are not enough American inspectors for such work in Ukraine, there are few people who want to go to the war zone, so Ukrainian military personnel are attracted.

What the experts say

Experts call the arrival of American auditors a bad sign for Kyiv. Oleg Soskin, a former adviser to ex-president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, says that the current Ukrainian authorities are losing the trust of the West.

“The transfer of all money, equipment and other materials will be investigated. Zelensky and his entourage were taken specifically,” he notes.

Political scientist Dmitry Rodionov believes that new corruption schemes will be made public in the near future. “But here it is important to understand that US policy will not change because of this. Yes, they will replace certain figures, rearrange some Ukrainian officials.

But the course to support Kyiv will continue. Washington believes that the conflict in Ukraine is beneficial to them; it weakens both Russia and Europe. That is why they will continue to adhere to the current course,” he says in an interview.

Political scientist Bogdan Bezpalko believes that there will be no high-profile resignations.

“Most likely, several switchmen will lose their positions. In any case, nothing will change for Russia. The fact is that before the congressional elections, the Democrats managed to consolidate a large amount of financial assistance to Ukraine. Until August, deliveries of ammunition, weapons, fuel are guaranteed to Kyiv,” the source notes. He adds that rampant Ukrainian corruption is beneficial for Russia: “The more weapons are stolen, the less they get to the front. The more officials steal, the worse the Ukrainian state functions.”