Pentagon admits potential misuse of funds training Ukrainian unit
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The Leahy Law prohibits the US from offering military assistance to foreign security forces when there is credible information indicating those forces have committed serious human rights abuses.
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The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One as it flies over Washington, March 2, 2022. (AP)
The US Department of Defense (DoD) may have misused appropriated funds by training a Ukrainian military unit that may have engaged in gross human rights violations, according to a new oversight report published by the department’s Office of the Inspector General on Wednesday.
"DoD personnel may have misused appropriated funds by training a Ukrainian unit that may have committed a gross violation of human rights, resulting in a violation of the Leahy Law, because they did not sufficiently document that Leahy vetting occurred for Ukrainian Armed Forces units that received DoD training," the report said.
The Leahy Law prohibits the US from offering military assistance to foreign security forces when there is credible information indicating those forces have committed serious human rights abuses, such as torture or extrajudicial killings.
The DoD's report does not specify a particular Ukrainian unit, such as the Azov Battalion. However, the Azov Battalion has been a controversial subject in the past due to its involvement in human rights abuses and its fascist origins.
Read more: US greenlights weapon transfer to Ukraine's neo-Nazi Azov battalion
The most recent war crimes were reported to have occured in the Donbass in July. On July 6, The New York Times published an investigation revealing that Chosen Company, an international volunteer unit fighting for Ukraine, has been involved in executing Russian prisoners of war (POWs), a clear violation of the Geneva Conventions.
The article exposes how these practices, including executing POWs who do not strictly follow surrender protocols, are widespread among Ukrainian and foreign fighters.
Members of the unit confirmed witnessing and participating in such executions, with some commanders justifying the killings as acceptable.
Read more: Russia opens probe on alleged chemical weapons use by Ukraine in Kursk
