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News | Oct. 16, 2024

Press Release: Audit of Accountability Controls for Defense Items Transferred to Ukraine Through Slovakia (Report No. DODIG-2025-004)

Audit

Inspector General Robert P. Storch announced today that the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) released the “Audit of Accountability Controls for Defense Items Transferred to Ukraine Through Slovakia.”

This audit, the latest in a series of DoD OIG projects focused on the transfer of U.S. defense items to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF), assessed the effectiveness of the DoD’s accountability controls for U.S. defense items transferred to the UAF through the Logistics Enabling Node in Slovakia (LEN-S).

The DoD OIG determined that U.S. European Command (USEUCOM), U.S. Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF), and Security Assistance Group–Ukraine (SAG-U) officials did not have effective controls to provide visibility of all items transferred through LEN-S. The audit found that USEUCOM, USAREUR-AF, and SAG-U could not provide a complete list of all U.S. defense items transferred through LEN-S. This happened because these organizations did not develop a tracking mechanism to provide visibility of U.S. defense items transferred to the UAF until March 2023; and even after the tracking mechanism was developed, it did not include a data field to identify the LEN used for transferring the defense items. In addition, USEUCOM did not establish standard operating procedures sufficient to ensure accountability for all U.S. defense items transferred through LEN-S, though procedures exist at LEN-Poland and LEN-Romania.

“Effective controls are essential to ensuring accurate records and accountability related to DoD transfers of U.S. defense items to the UAF through LEN-S. These controls are essential to knowing what has been transferred to Ukraine and help prevent the potential misuse or diversion of military equipment,” said IG Storch.

The DoD OIG issued recommendations to USEUCOM and SAG-U to enhance accountability controls for U.S. defense items transferred to the UAF through LEN-S. SAG-U agreed with the recommendations to it and provided sufficient documentation for them to be closed. Specifically, SAG-U modified and develop procedures for its tracking mechanisms. USEUCOM partially agreed with the recommendations to develop procedures for transferring defense items through LEN-S. The DoD OIG will continue monitoring their progress toward fully implementing the recommendations.