Mehrfache Verzögerungen“ werden auf Mängel in einer Transportvereinbarung zwischen EUCOM und der Deutschen Bahn zurückgeführt.
U.S. shipments of ammunition to Ukraine were delayed for at least two months last year because of problems with a U.S. military contract with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn railways, according to a Defense Department Inspector General report.
The “multiple delays” happened between December 2022 and January 2023, according to the report, around the same time Ukraine began to run out of U.S.-supplied ammunition—making it one of several instances in which U.S. aid shortfalls have affected the Ukrainian military since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The report was released to Defense One on Thursday in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
In at least one instance, “no rail service was available to transport the ammunition.” The problem was eventually solved by chartering boats to deliver it instead, at a cost of $1.6 million to the United States.
The IG report said the delays were caused by the U.S. European Command agreement with Deutsche Bahn failing to account for some criteria or factor, but the specifics of the deficiency are redacted.