Pentagon's Ukraine accounting error revised up to $6.2 billion

[June 21, 2023]  (Reuters) - The Pentagon found it had overestimated the amount of funding for ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion due to an accounting error, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, more than double the amount previously disclosed. 

The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, U.S., March 3, 2022, more than a week after Russia invaded Ukraine. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/ File Photo

The value of the accounting error was revised up from the $3 billion that was first reported by Reuters in May, the result of assigning a higher-than-warranted value on U.S. weaponry shipped to Ukraine.

Additional funding was uncovered as Pentagon officials researched the situation more thoroughly and clarified protocols for valuing equipment based on Financial Management Regulation and Department of Defense policy, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said.

The $6.2 billion breaks down to $3.6 billion for fiscal year 2023 and $2.6 billion for fiscal year 2022, she said, adding that the errors did not impact the size of presidential drawdown authority or support for Ukraine.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington, D.C., and Tyler Clifford in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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