No, the U.S. didn’t accidentally send $6.2 billion to Ukraine

Context

A video is gaining popularity on social media in which podcaster Joe Rogan falsely claims that the United States accidentally sent Ukraine $6.2 billion. 

However, Rogan's statement misinterprets a June 2023 announcement by a Pentagon spokesperson that the agency had overestimated the value of weapons it sent to Ukraine over the past two years by $6.2 billion because of an accounting error.

In fact

Rogan made this comment during a conversation with former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard in September 2023, while discussing the government's response to the recent wildfires in Maui. Rogan emphasized that no funds were available to deal with the aftermath of this disaster while the U.S. was "oversending" to Ukraine. 

In June 2023, the Pentagon representative said that it had overestimated the value of the weapons sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion over the past two years. Subsequently, the surplus was planned to be used for future security packages.

Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the error occurred because Pentagon officials erroneously calculated the totals using replacement values for the weapons rather than their current values. Final calculations showed the calculation ultimately was off by $2.6 billion in the 2022 fiscal year and $3.6 billion in 2023. As a result, the department had additional money to support Ukraine.

Joe Rogan's podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" is well known for hosting guests who have indulged in conspiracy theories and peddled misinformation. He has previously shared misinformation related to the war in Ukraine, elections, public health, and climate change.  

The verdict

$6.2 billion was not sent by accident. It was a result of an accounting error, which meant that the amount was not spent and can now be used for future packages. The claim misinterprets an announcement by a Pentagon spokesperson that the agency had overestimated the value of weapons it has sent to Ukraine. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.