Of course there are, you know how the Pentagon can’t be audited, they set it up like that, so auditors give up or are paid offGuess what you also won’t find where the money from America, that went into Joe Bidan’s 1,000 accounts around the world! I hope the Russians have all of it and leak it to NYTs! Kek
https://twitter.com/TheGrayzoneNews/status/1673748337328021504?s=20
=All aboard the gravy train: an independent audit of US funding for Ukraine
HEATHER KAISER, ANYA PARAMPIL AND MAX BLUMENTHAL·JUNE 27, 2023
In the absence of official scrutiny of Washington’s spending spree on Ukraine, The Grayzone conducted an independent audit of US funding for the country. We discovered a series of wasteful, highly unusual expenditures the Biden administration has yet to explain.
During a recent discussion with New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development(USAID), Samantha Power, touted her organization’s push to guarantee transparency for US taxpayer funds sent to Ukraine.
“We are involved in funding efforts at ensuring judicial integrity, which is intrinsically important to building Ukraine’s democracy and its integration plans to get into Europe,” Power declared, adding USAID’s work in Ukraine was “also really important in terms of assuring the taxpayer, the American taxpayer, that they’re resources are well spent.”
While innocuous on the surface, Power’s comments revealed a great deception the US government is currently waging against the American public. In the roughly 16 months since Russia’s February 2022 escalation of the Ukraine conflict, the US government has approved several multi-billion dollar spending packages to sustain the Kiev military’s fight against Moscow.
Though many Americans likely believe that US dollars allocated for Ukraine are spent directly on supplies for the war effort, the leadauthor of this report, Heather Kaiser, conducted a thorough review of Washington’s budget for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal year and discovered that is far from the case.
US taxpayers may be shocked to learn that as their families grappled with fears of Social Security’s looming insolvency, theSocial Security Administration in Washington sent $4.48 million to the Kiev government in 2022 and 2023 alone. In another example of bizarre spending,USAID paid off $4.5 billion worth of Ukraine’s sovereign debt through payments made to the World Bank— all while Congress went to loggerheads over America’s ballooning national debt. (Western financial interests including BlackRock Inc. are among the largest holders of Ukrainian government bonds.)
Though it is nearlyimpossible to calculate the total sum of US tax dollars sent to Kiev, Kaiser was able to perform an independent audit of Washington’s proxy war in Ukraine through a careful search of open source data available on the US government’s official spending tracker.
Kaiser reviewed all the funding allocations in which Ukraine was listed as the “Place of Performance” for fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Additionally, she discoveredsupplementary funds were sent to Kiev by listing Ukraine as the “justification” for spending, rather than the location where the money was physically sent.
Calculating the total dollar amount that the US has given to Ukraine is incredibly challenging for multitude of reasons: there is a lag in reporting expenditures;covert money given by the CIA (Title 50 Covert Action) won’t be publicly disclosed; and direct military assistance in the form of military equipment is not calculated in the same manner as raw cash. The Pentagon recently admitted to an accounting error revised up to 6.2 billion dollars. Despite this, Kaiser submitted a request to the Department of Treasury asking them to disclose the total dollar amount of US taxpayer support for Ukraine. Treasury has not responded at the time of publication.
Though Kaiser was able to search through pages of reported spending, the US government has yet to conduct an official audit of its funding for Ukraine. What’s more,there is currently no limit to how much Washington can send to Kiev.
Among the many troubling contracts we discovered was a$4.25 million payment from the Pentagon to a military diving contractorthat a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee has described as a “fraudulent company.” The US government asserts the payment covered thecompany’s delivery of explosives equipment to Ukraine.
MUST FUCKING READlong article
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/06/27/gravy-train-independent-audit-ukraine/
>>19089536.Part 2
So how exactly was that money put to use? And why has Congress so far refused to implement any program to track these shady weapons deals?
Unfortunately, the “justification” for contracts like these often consists of just a brief paragraph — or worse, a single sentence. Little little information is available that documents precisely how the funds were spent down to the dollar and item.
Beneficiaries of USAID’s Ukraine aid: Polish NATO lobbyists, a private equity firm, rural Kenyans, a TV station in Toronto
USAID awarded $21.8 billion to Ukraine throughout fiscal years 2022 and 2023, roughly 41 percent of the 53.4 billion it spent during that period. Mysteriously, a portion ofUSAID funding earmarked for Kiev was sent to Kenya and Ethiopia via other agencies, with the award description stating projects in Africa were “partially funded with response funds and Ukraine supplemental funds.”
USAID sent $4.5 billion to Ukraine via the World Bank to pay off Kiev’s debt and fund various social programs, including government pensions.USAID made a total of $21 billion worth of direct payments to the World Bank in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 (9.1 Billion and 11.9 Billion, respectively), more money than all of the funding Washington sent to the bank between fiscal years 2008 and 2021 combined.The $4.5 billion allocated for Ukrainefunded programs directed by the bank’sInternational Development Association and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
USAID supplied a $1 billion grant to the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to subsidize projects “Ukraine cannot fund at this
USAID has supplied $20 million to “Miscellaneous Foreign Awardees” since February 2020. Recipients include aPolish think tank called the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, a Toronto-based Ukrainian TV channel, a collection of Ukrainian “anti-corruption” organizations, and other groups listed in the screenshot below. These awards were issued on top of $26 million worth of funds USAID sent these groups between 2016 and the February 2022 war escalation.
USAID allocated $500,000 for the Casimir Pulaski Foundation in 2023to fund a program dedicated to “advanc[ing] U.S. foreign policy objectives by supporting economic growth, agriculture and trade; global health; and democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance” in Ukraine. The funds were earmarked “tostrengthen the International Center for Ukrainian Victory (ICUV) initiative in implementing international advocacy campaigns to keep high levels of international solidarity with Ukraine.”
USAID’s support arrived on top of a $74,788 subaward the State Department granted to the Casimir Pulaski Foundation in June 2022 to “build capacity and policy formulating capabilities of the International Center for Ukrainian Victory (ICUV) and assisting Ukrainian civil society based in Poland.”
According to their own so-called “Peace Manifesto,” the ICUV’s top priority is to admit Ukraine into NATO, a move that former US diplomats from George Kennan to Jack Matlock to Henry Kissinger and even current CIA director William Burns have described as a major provocation against Russia.
USAID sent $3 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2022 “to improve health outcomes in drought affected areas in Ethiopia.” The description stated, “partially funded with response funds and Ukraine Supplemental Funds.”
USAID sent 30.9 million to Chemonics International, Inc. for the “Ukraine confidence building initiative(UCBI) 4. A private, for-profit aid contractor, Chemonics’ founder said he launched the company to “have my own CIA.” The Grayzone has documented Chemonics’ role in delivering US government funding and supplies to the Syrian White Helmets,
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/06/27/gravy-train-independent-audit-ukraine/
Part 3USAID sent $20.7 million to PACT, INC. for “USAID Ukraine’s public health system recoveryand resilience activity and will strengthen theGovernment of Ukraine(GOU) capacity to address COVID-19 and other public health threats, sustain health services during a crisis, and protect the health of all Ukrainians including vulnerable and marginalized populations. According to its 2022 impact statement [PDF], “In Ukraine, Pact’s work empowers citizens to push for transparent and democratic governance, advances gender equality and human rights for women and girls, and accelerates efforts to achieve HIV epidemic control.” The contractor’s work contributed to “172 people increas[ing] their net income,” according to Pact.
USAID sent $25 million to Horizon Capital Growth Fund IV, a “leading private equity firm in emerging Europe, via the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), “to back high-growth tech and export-oriented [Small and Medium Sized Enterprises] succeeding globally, based on platforms in Ukraine and Moldova.”
USAID sent 7.6 million to UNICEF IDAfor emergency nutrition response in ASALs (Arid and Semi-Arid Lands) in Kenya. The description stated, “partially funded with response funds and Ukraine Supplemental Funds”
USAID sent $1.2 million to University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. located in Atlanta, GA to “support humanitarian information management through geographic information systems, data analytics and visualizations”.Ukraine was listed as the place of performance.
The Pentagon sponsors diving contractor with “history of fraud” to send mysterious explosives to Ukraine
The Department of Homeland Security sent 5.48 million to Gravois Aluminum Boats LLC on June 8, 2021for the following purpose: “PROCUREMENT OF TWO 38-FOOT FULL CABIN RESPONSE BOATS, FOUR 38-FOOT CENTER CONSOLE RESPONSE BOATS, TRAILERS, SPARE PARTS, AND TRAINING ASREQUIRED UNDER FMS LOA DB-P-LCL FOR THE COUNTRY OF UKRAINE.”…
The Department of Defense has transferred4.75 Million to Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc. as of February 3, 2023 for “PRO SAPPER AND EOD EQUIPMENT [CONTRACTING SQUADRON] UKRAINE” and “Marine lifesaving and Diving Equipment.”
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and sapper equipment is exclusively used to blow things up or clean up explosives. And AtlanticDiving Supply is a military contractor originally founded to provide tactical gear to Navy SEAL divers.
When a company like this is tasked with a highly specific delivery of explosives gearto any foreign nation, including Ukraine, it should prompt questions about the mission, particularly when US intelligence is blaming Ukraine’s military for attacking the Nord Stream pipelines without the knowledge of President Volodymyr Zelensky. (The payment date does not necessarily correlate with the date of delivery from the vendor; in other words, the equipment could have been delivered at a prior date.)
Luke Hillier, the founder of Atlantic Diving Supply, paid a $20 million settlement in 2019to resolve charges that he defrauded the Pentagon by falsely claiming his company was a small business. Atlantic Diving is consistently listed as one of the top 25 largest military contractors in the country.
In 2021, Hillier raked in a massive $33 billion contractunder the same program, prompting fresh accusations of fraud. This pattern of malfeasance prompted a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to bluntly denounceAtlantic Diving as a “fraudulent company.”
The Department of Defense has paid 4.9 Million to BAE Systems GCS International as of September 12, 2022 for “UKRAINE LCS LW 155 SPARES” and “guns over 155mm through 200mm”. In Navy terminology, LCS means “Littoral Combat Ship,” while LW refers to the lightweight gun. And “155 SPARES” refers to the gun mounted on the ship’s main battery off the bow.
US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)sent $25 million to Horizon Capital Growth Fund IVa “leading private equity firm in emerging Europe, “to back high-growth tech and export-oriented [Small and Medium Sized Enterprises] succeeding globally, based onplatforms in Ukraine and Moldova.”
US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) sent $1.5 million to the Gazelle FundLP, another private equity firm, torelocate Ukrainian businesses to Georgia. Georgia does not border Ukraine, nor is it a primary location for Ukrainian refugee resettlement.
(I can’t do this anymore, I’m sick to my stomach, this was going on under Trump (and he knew nothing about this), the gov was stealing from and still stealing from our country and people, for their money laundering. Read the full story)
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/06/27/gravy-train-independent-audit-ukraine/
part 4
TheNational Science Foundation sent 1.3 million to University of Illinoisfor faculty and curriculardevelopment in remote sensing. The place of performance is listed asUkraine.
The Department of State has paid 8.3 million to Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to help “refugees from Ukrainemeet their essential needs during initial displacement.” According to SpendingUS.gov, Catholic Relief Services is listed as having received a total of 657 million from the State Department in 2021, 5.7 billion since 2008 and 670 million during the last 12 months.
Sponsoring “democracy” at Americans’ expense
Along with the blowback from their government’s gratuitous sanctions policy against Russia and other official enemies, Americans are feeling the impact of this overseas spending spree at grocery stores, gas stations, and everywhere in between. Meanwhile, rising generations are not only struggling with historic inflation, but concerns that Medicare and Social Security will be insolvent in the near future.
Washington and Europe have insisted that the flood of aid to Ukraineis essential to defending democracy against the existential threat of an authoritarian Russia. This framing is designed to shut down all debate by casting anyone who questions the ballooning price tag as fundamentally anti-American — if you are against funding the West’s proxy war with a nuclear power, you oppose the very ideals that define our nation.
Yet our inspection ofUS government spending in Ukraine demonstrates that Washington has prioritized its supposed fight for “democracy” abroad over the well-being of the American people.
As the war drags on, lawmakers likeSen. Lindsey Graham have marketed military aid to Ukraine in increasingly grim terms. As the senator boasted during a recent trip to Kiev, “The Russians are dying…it’s the best money we’ve ever spent.” Meanwhile, Congress has rejected any mechanism that would guarantee transparency on the billions sent to Kiev, and shunned a war powers debate over the US military’s presence on the Ukrainian battlefield.
President Joseph Biden, for his part, has pledged that official Washington willsupport Kiev “as long as it takes.” As the potential for blowback grows from Western pressure to push Ukraine into NATO, and a nuclear-armed Moscow is backed into an existential fight for its survival, while economic powers including China gradually decouple from the Western financial system, Americans can only wonder how much will this war cost them when it is finally over.
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/06/27/gravy-train-independent-audit-ukraine/
28 Jun, 2023 14:17
Pentagon to send more Bradleys to Ukraine
Russian troops have reportedly destroyed at least 15% of Kiev’s US-supplied infantry fighting vehicles already
The US Department of Defense announced a new package of weapons for Ukraine on Tuesday, =including 30 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles. More than a dozen of the armored vehicles== have reportedly been damaged or destroyed since Kiev launched its counteroffensive against Russian forces earlier this month.
Valued at up to $500 million, the package is the 41st tranche of military aid doled out to Kievsince Russia’s military operation began last February. Itincludes 30 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, 25 Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers, 155mm artillery ammunition, Patriot anti-air missiles, and mine- and obstacle-clearing equipment, according to a statement from the Pentagon.
The announcement came just under a month into Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which has met stiff resistance from entrenched Russian troops. During repeated assaults through minefields and without air support, Kiev lost more than 13,000 troops, as well as 246 tanks and 152 infantry fighting vehicles, between June 4 and 21, according to figures from the Russian Security Council.
Videos showing wrecked Bradleys and German-supplied Leopard 2 tanks have circulated online, and American officials admitted to the New York Times this week that 17 of the 113 Bradleys supplied to Ukraine by that point had been damaged or destroyed. With no significant territorial gains to show for its losses, an anonymous US official called the counteroffensive “behind schedule.”
The latest arms package is thesecond such delivery announced in less than two weeks. A package announced on June 13 included 15 Bradleys, in addition to the usual complement of anti-air missiles and artillery shells.
Russian forces are “debunking the myths about the ‘unsurpassed quality’ of American and NATO weapons” on a daily basis, Moscow’s embassy in Washington claimed in a statement on Tuesday, pointing to the “mangled machinery smoking on the fields of Donbass.”
“With further deliveries of military equipment, Washington only confirms its obsession with the idea of inflicting a strategic defeat on the Russian Federation,” the embassy continued. “To do this, [it] pushes its clients towards more and more desperate adventures. The lives of Ukrainians mean nothing to the American authorities.”
As of Tuesday, the US has committed more than $40.5 billion in direct military aid to Ukraine since last February. President Joe Biden has promised to maintain this “unwavering support” for Kiev, despite reports that American officials are demanding a successful counteroffensive to justify continued arms supplies to Kiev.
https://www.rt.com/news/578855-pentagon-bradley-package-ukraine/
He’s panicking and he should be, along with a whole lot of others he placed in his admin
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1674081710667907072?s=20