Supporters of the MAGA movement expressed anger on Thursday following a report that $1 billion in U.S. military aid to Ukraine may have been stolen or lost.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that a Pentagon document discussing that a massive military aid package sent to Ukraine has not been properly tracked, prompting concerns regarding its whereabouts.
"It was beyond the scope of our evaluation to determine whether there has been diversion of such assistance," the Pentagon report said.
The package included different military aid to Ukraine amid its war with Russia, such as missiles, drones and night vision equipment. The report was created by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Defense and sent to Congress on Wednesday, the Times said.
Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon via email for comment.
As many Republicans have continued to criticize the different aid packages the U.S. government has sent to Ukraine, the report on Thursday sparked further backlash.
"We have sent Ukraine BILLIONS in liquid cash and billions more in weapons and ammunition. The kicker? We have no idea where it all went! Yet Speaker Johnson wants to tie securing America's border to MORE aid for Ukraine," Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "I'm a HARD NO!! #AmericaFirst."
"BREAKING: Pentagon report concludes that over 40,000 weapons worth well over $1 billion that the U.S. sent to Ukraine has been lost and can not be tracked. Is anyone actually surprised? What a disaster..." X user Proud Elephant wrote.
Similarly, conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong commented, "US military aid to Ukraine was poorly tracked. Rand Paul warned about this and even tried to push an amendment in the military budget bill to make sure these weapons were tracked, but he was shot down. The White House — and many, many 'military experts' insisted that the weapons were all being tracked and fully accounted for."
"Now the DOD is admitting it has no idea where ANY of the 40,000 weapons sent went to. Now it's quite possible that they're landing in the hands of ISIS and other terror groups in the Middle East, criminal gangs in Europe, militant neo-Nazi organizations, and other terror groups in Africa and beyond," Cheong said.
X user Ben Owens, who describes himself as a conservative patriot in his bio, wrote, "Disturbing findings in Pentagon's IG report: Over $1B of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, including missiles and drones, lacks tracking...40,000 weapons unaccounted for, raising alarms on theft or smuggling risks. Time for accountability! @HouseGOP #AmericaFirst #MAGA."
Ezra Cohen, a former Department of Defense official under former President Donald Trump's administration said, "No excuse for this mismanagement. Abuse it and you lose it:"
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
