The Military normal answerable for U.S. help to Ukraine in 2024 left categorised maps marked “SECRET” describing the struggle in Ukraine on a practice, a Pentagon watchdog discovered.
In a report issued final week, the Protection Division inspector normal discovered Main Basic Antonio Aguto, who oversaw U.S. navy assist for Ukraine from Dec. 2022 to Sept. 2024, in separate incidents improperly dealt with categorised paperwork and engaged within the “overindulgence of alcohol.”
In April 2024, Aguto misplaced a 1.5 to three ft tube of maps that have been categorised as “SECRET” after returning to Germany from a go to to Ukraine. The report says he realized he misplaced the tube both that evening or the morning after and notified the U.S. embassy in Ukraine.
Aguto and his group had traveled from Kyiv to Poland on a practice the State Division had established in 2022 with Ukrainian railways to offer transportation for U.S. personnel, not for different public use. After listening to the paperwork have been lacking, the Ukrainian director of practice safety discovered the tube on the practice and dispatched a Ukrainian to ship it to the embassy.
In response to the inspector normal’s findings, Aguto mentioned there isn’t any indication categorised info was compromised. The watchdog nonetheless discovered him at fault and wrote within the report, “these paperwork have been left on the practice, unsecured, and later recovered by Ukrainian nationals.”
In a separate Could 2024 incident, Aguto suffered a concussion from a fall after ingesting that incapacitated him for conferences, together with one with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The night earlier than the conferences, Aguto went out to dinner in Kyiv simply after 5:00 p.m. and did not return till after 11:00 p.m. At round 10:00 p.m., an aide establishing his communications gear requested the aide with Aguto how lengthy they’d be, and the aide texted, “We’re nonetheless going robust… I do not suppose he’s going to verify something. Have it prepared however he is too drunk.”
As soon as he returned to his room, Aguto instantly “misplaced his stability” and fell backward, in keeping with one of many witnesses, placing the again of his head on the wall. He fell two extra occasions over the course of the following 24 hours and was performing “sluggish” sufficient to warrant medical consultations.
Aguto had a CT scan and an EKG on the native hospital and acquired a concussion analysis.
Whereas the inspector normal didn’t substantiate allegations that Aguto was drunk on the job, the report did conclude that Aguto was unable to carry out his duties due to a concussion attributable to the sequence of falls that started with the one in his resort room after an “overindulgence in alcohol.”
Across the time of the incidents, the U.S. had dedicated $50.6 billion value of safety help to Ukraine, in keeping with a truth sheet launched by the Pentagon on Could 10, 2024.
The inspector normal advisable the Military secretary take acceptable motion with respect to Aguto in gentle of the “substantiated misconduct” described within the report.
