Military aid group CEO estimates that only 30% of Ukraine military aid reaches final destination
"I understand even U.S. troops are not crossing the border. But why not at least put people in place to supervise the country?" a retired Marine asked
An estimated 30% of all Ukrainian military aid reportedly reaches its final destination, despite the fact that the United States has committed billions in aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded at the end of February.
U.S. and NATO officials bring weapons and supplies to the Polish border, where Ukrainian officials take control and U.S. oversight ends.
"All of this stuff goes across the border, and then something happens, kind of like 30% of it reaches its final destination," said Jonas Ohman, founder and CEO of the Ukraine aid organization Blue-Yellow, which is based in Lithuania.
Ohman told CBS News' "Arming Ukraine" documentary that his organization needs to work around "power lords, oligarchs, and political players" in order to deliver the equipment through unofficial channels.
The CBS report finds that the problem is exacerbated by a "combination of Ukraine's constantly shifting front lines with its largely volunteer and paramilitary forces," plus "concerns about weapons falling into Ukraine's black market, which has thrived on corruption since the collapse of the Soviet Union."
Retired U.S. Marine Col. Andy Millburn criticized the U.S.'s policy with regards to Ukraine.
"If you provide supplies, or a logistics pipeline, there has got to be some organization to it, right? If the ability to which you're willing to be involved in that stops at the Ukrainian border, the surprise isn't that, oh, all this stuff isn't getting to where it needs to go — the surprise is that people actually expected it to," Millburn told the outlet.
"If United States' policy is to support Ukraine in the defense of its country against the Russian Federation, you can't go halfway with that. You can't create artificial lines. I understand that means that U.S. troops are not fighting Russians. I understand even U.S. troops are not crossing the border. But why not at least put people in place to supervise the country? They can be civilians to ensure that the right things are happening," he stated.
In May, Congress approved $40 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine and its allies. Ukraine has also received billions in aid from global groups such as the World Bank.