The U.S. military in Ukraine recently began conducting on-site inspections to make sure Ukrainian troops are properly reporting on Western weapons they receive. A senior U.S. Defense Department official said this, AP reported.

He did not say where the inspections take place or how close to the front the U.S. military is getting.  U.S. personnel cannot conduct inspections "near the front lines," he said, but they go where security conditions allow.

The official said there have been several inspections, and they are conducted by the defense attaché and a team from the U.S. Office of Military Cooperation who are in Kyiv. So far, the official said, Ukrainian officials have been transparent about weapons distribution and supportive of inspections.

The effort is part of a broader U.S. campaign announced last week by the State Department to ensure that weapons supplied to Ukraine do not fall into the hands of Russian troops, their proxies, or other extremist groups.

Earlier this year, the U.S. said a small number of U.S. troops had returned to the embassy in Kyiv for security and other tasks. U.S. President Joe Biden ruled out any combat role for U.S. forces in Ukraine.

U.S. officials face persistent questions from some members of Congress about how the administration keeps track of the billions of dollars worth of weapons that have been sent to Ukraine over the past year.

The State Department's plan includes short-, medium- and long-term initiatives to strengthen U.S. oversight of transferred weapons, especially more advanced missile systems, and anti-aircraft devices, and to improve Ukrainian aviation and border security to combat weapons misuse and prevent possible arms trafficking.