Ukraine and US conduct first joint inspection of American-supplied weapons

Photo: Ministry of Defense

Maria Ignatenko

The Internal Audit Service of the Ministry of Defense and representatives of Ukraine's armed forces together with representatives of the Department of Defense Cooperation of the US Embassy conducted an inspection of weapons and property provided by American partners in one of the military units.

The Ministry of Defense reported that.

Ukrainian and American inspectors checked three main positions:

• serial numbers
• technical condition
• proper storage conditions (safety and security)

^{Photo: Ministry of Defense}

Information is currently being processed. During the joint work, there were no comments from the US representatives.

Joint end-use inspections of partner-provided weapons will continue.

"Ensuring access to storage sites, openness and systematic joint inspections are concrete measures we are taking to increase transparency and strengthen trust in relations with partners," commented Deputy Minister of Defense Yuriy Dzhyhyr.

^{Photo: Ministry of Defense}

Partner country self-reporting on end use of weapons was initially introduced and signed by the Ministry of Defense on November 27, 2023. The plan for jointly conducting physical inspections during the first half of 2024 was approved in collaboration with the American side on December 14, 2023.

For reference:

A few months ago, US President Joe Biden asked Congress to allocate more than $100 billion for national security needs. The package includes more than $60 billion in new funding to help Ukraine.

Republicans in Congress refused to support such an initiative. They are demanding that the package include tougher measures to protect the border with Mexico.

Thus, for more than a month, Congress has been trying to agree on such measures to approve the package.

On January 12, it became known that aid to Ukraine from the United States has been suspended until Congress approves new funding.

US President Joe Biden plans to meet with members of both houses of Congress to discuss the importance of passing his request, which includes, in particular, more than $60 billion in support of Ukraine.