Russia’s unprovoked and sustained invasion of Ukraine is resulting in severe global hardship and heightened national security concerns. The United States is engaged in an extensive and multi-faceted response to the invasion and the programs and activities of the agencies we oversee are a crucial part of that response.
Given the urgency of the situation and the many billions of dollars already provided, our offices have made oversight of the U.S. response a top priority. Accordingly, we are leveraging the oversight model our offices employed to jointly oversee eight overseas contingency operations. This proven model results in both coordinated oversight of our individual agencies’ response efforts and enhanced collaboration across the oversight community. For example, we established the Ukraine Oversight Interagency Working Group, composed of oversight offices across the federal government, to advance comprehensive, “whole-of-government” oversight of the U.S. response. Further, we are regularly in contact with our international oversight partners to discuss areas of mutual interest.
As we press forward to execute our oversight plans in this dynamic environment, we are relying on our deep knowledge of the agencies we oversee to identify the areas of highest risk—including many critical areas where response activities overlap. We are also identifying oversight opportunities by traveling to the region and meeting with stakeholders. Our efforts are resulting in risk-targeted projects, real-time information sharing, and continuous stakeholder engagement. This approach, combined with our dedicated teams of experienced oversight professionals and the regional presence our offices share, will allow us to deliver robust and strategic oversight to hold accountable those who seek to corrupt or abuse these vital programs and activities.
Effectively communicating our plan and the results of our work with Congress and the public is key to the success of our oversight mission. For this reason, each of our offices recently launched Ukraine response oversight pages on our public websites to provide timely and useful information. To visit these sites, please click here: DoD OIG State OIG USAID OIG.