US weapons provided to Ukraine like disappearing into a “black hole”?

Goverment America are trying to track down the large number of lethal weapons that have been delivered to the Ukrainian armed forces in recent months – officials are said to have told CNN, noting that intelligence agencies “almost no” ability to track weapons shipments sent to end users.

Although arms shipments to Ukraine make up a significant portion of the largest recent supply to a partner country in conflict, the White House is increasingly concerned that the aid “could fall into the hands of militaries.” and other militias that the United States does not intend to equip,” a senior US defense official told CNN on April 19.

“We had accurate information (about the weapons shipments) for a short time, but when we entered the fog of war, the information was almost nil,” – another US intelligence source said. added that the weapon fell “into a large black hole, and there is almost no information after a short period of time”.

Despite that “blind spot” – which is “largely due to the lack of US troop presence” in Ukraine and due to the wide range of portable weapons – the White House has “taken into account the risk” that some weapons America will go to “unexpected places,” another Pentagon official said.

The two intelligence sources added that Western estimates of Ukraine’s casualties and other battlefield details are also “cloudy,” meaning that the United States and its NATO allies are often forced to rely on information from other sources. Ukrainian government, which they consider not always reliable.

“It is a war – everything (Ukrainian officials) do and say publicly is designed to help them win the war. Every public statement is an information campaign, every interview, every broadcast about the appearance of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky It’s all an information operation,” said another source familiar with Western intelligence.

Since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in late February, Washington has provided more than $2.6 billion in military aid to Kiev and billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance, while President Joe Biden has approved it. approved assistance totaling $3.2 billion since taking office in 2020. More than 100,000 US troops have also been redeployed to bolster NATO’s eastern flank, while individual members of the military bloc has also provided itself with billions of dollars in aid.

On April 19, the White House is said to be considering another massive aid package for Ukraine in preparation for Russian attack on Donbass, after last week approved a $800 million weapons aid package including heavy artillery, drones, armored vehicles, military helicopters and other equipment. However, the Pentagon declined to reveal details about what the next weapons package will include.