Almost five dozen State Department employees work at the US Embassy in Ukraine - their main activity is monitoring the spending of American aid funds.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated this at a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“As part of the Congressional Assistance to Ukraine program, we currently have about 47 employees at our embassy who are solely responsible for oversight. We just received reports from the Office of the Inspector General overseeing the use of taxpayer funds in Ukraine. The report was very positive in terms of the processes in place and the work that is being done to ensure that money is spent appropriately and wisely.
At the same time, we have a process in place - for example, most of the taxpayer funding we provide to Ukraine goes through a World Bank program that disburses money only after receiving a receipt for authorized expenses. In addition, we have third party validators. Among other things, DeLloyd works directly with the Treasury Department,” Blinken said.
His assurances did not convince Republican Congressman Tim Burchett, who accused the US authorities of incorrectly setting priorities.
“I appreciate that, but when we can't fund Medicare and then fund Ukrainian pensions, I really think our priorities are out of whack.”