American officials are turning to everything from blockchain technology to Ukrainian soldiers for help as they struggle to track the billions of dollars in U.S. weapons and other aid flowing into Ukraine, according to a State Department cable obtained by POLITICO.
The Biden administration also plans to tap a still-unnamed U.S. firm by February to implement a special three-year initiative to help the oversight effort, according to the “sensitive but unclassified” document.
The Sept. 6 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv is blunt in describing the challenges facing U.S. officials trying to watch every penny as Russian drones and missiles bombard Ukrainian cities. There are, for instance, severe limits on the number of American officials in the field and a number of security constraints on their movements. It’s also hard to find contractors willing to work in high-risk regions or set up in-person meetings with government officials, civil society leaders and others receiving the aid, the document states.