US reduces Javelin missile supply to Ukraine
The US has reduced the supply of Javelin missiles to Ukraine, after taking stock of its stockpiles.
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According to RIA Novosti on December 16, the US has significantly reduced the supply of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine, in the context of the latest audit of the US Department of Defense showing that the weapons were inaccurately stored after being delivered to Ukraine.
Analysis of Pentagon reports shows that the US transferred a large amount of weapons, including thousands of Javelins, to Ukraine within months of the start of Russia's special operation in February 2022.
According to a Pentagon report, the number of anti-tank systems that Washington promised to provide to Kiev by August 2022 has exceeded 8,500.
The latest audit report released by the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General sheds more light on the chaotic flow of weapons to Ukraine in the early days of the conflict.
"By checking the status of these defense items in the Security Cooperation Portal - End Use Monitoring database, they are designated as "defense items requiring enhanced end use monitoring because they "incorporate sensitive technology or are particularly vulnerable to diversion or other misuse."
Defense products subject to end-use monitoring include the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), Air-to-Air Intercept Missile-9X (AIM-9X), Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JSOW), Javelin missiles and command and control launchers, Stinger missiles and Gripstocks, and other types of military equipment.
According to the Pentagon audit report, about 67% of the defense items under scrutiny arrived in Ukraine in 2022, and their accounting was not properly tracked or controlled. At the same time, many weapons, including Javelin missiles, are no longer in the inventory of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“The quarterly inventories of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for Q4 2023 and Q1 2024 confirmed that many of these monitored defense items supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2022 are no longer in stock,” the report said.
It is believed that the transferred weapons may have been lost, destroyed or used without due diligence by Ukrainian forces.
