A team of U.S. military personnel has recently begun on-site inspections to ensure that Ukraine is properly accounting for weapons donated by Western countries, a senior U.S. defence official said, according to apnews.com.
He did not specify where the inspections take place or how close to the front lines the US military are. At the same time, the official noted that these are places where security conditions allow.
Several inspections have already been carried out by the U.S. Defence attache and the U.S. Office of Defence Cooperation team headquartered in Kyiv.
So far, the official said, Ukrainian officials have been transparent about the weapons’ distribution and are supporting the inspections.
The effort is part of a broader U.S. campaign, announced last week by the State Department, meant to ensure that weapons provided to Ukraine don’t end up in the hands of Russian troops, their proxies or other extremist groups.
Congressmen have long demanded an official report on how President Joe Biden's administration accounts for billions of dollars worth of weapons provided to Ukraine over the past year. The White House refused to describe the situation in detail due to concerns about smugglers.