The Defense Department announced last month that improper accounting methods led it to overvalue some of the military aid provided to Ukraine by roughly $3 billion, and now it’s more than doubling that estimate to $6.2 billion. That means that the Pentagon can send more aid to the war-torn country than defense officials originally thought.
The problem stems from how older equipment has been valued. Originally, the Pentagon used replacement values, or how much it would cost to replace equipment with new material. Instead, officials say they should have used net book value, which is lower to reflect the age and reduced life expectancy of older equipment.
As a result of the accounting change, the $6.2 billion in overvaluation is now available to use for additional equipment and supplies. “It’s just going to go back into the pot of money that we have allocated” for the future shipments to Ukraine, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told the Associated Press.
The U.S. has provided more than $40 billion in military to Ukraine since the Russian invasion early last year. The accounting corrections will not alter the total dollar value of aid provided to Ukraine, but will result in a greater quantity of military equipment being sent.
