A now-retired Army leader who led the military’s effort to support Ukraine improperly protected classified intelligence and did not abide by regulations regarding alcohol consumption, a new investigation by the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General found.
Then-Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Aguto was commander of the Wiesbaden, Germany-based Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, from its inception in 2022 through August 2024, though he retired shortly after multiple anonymous complaints had been issued against him.
Aguto and his staff traveled from Wiesbaden to Kyiv on March 24, 2024, and upon their trip back out of Ukraine on April 4, his staff left classified maps on the train. Ukraine’s Train Security found the tube of maps and passed it along to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine when the train returned to Ukraine the next day.
He took responsibility for the incident, even though Aguto acknowledged he was not the one handling the maps on the train. The maps were not properly stored either, according to department regulations.
According to the DOD OIG report, which came out on Thursday, investigators were able to substantiate that Augto failed to “comply with Chief of Mission Security Directive 2022-06 by directing his staff to physically carry the classified maps across international boundaries,” “properly wrap and transport classified materials,” and by “losing possession and control of the classified maps.”
“I acknowledge and accept responsibility for the temporary loss of classified materials associated with the incident in April 2024,” Aguto said in response to the preliminary conclusions, which were included in the final report.
In a separate incident about a month later, Aguto had dinner in Kyiv on May 13, 2024, and he violated the policy barring Pentagon personnel on temporary duty in Ukraine from having more than two alcoholic beverages without a proper waiver. He had a lot to drink and was noticeably intoxicated afterward. Once he was back in his hotel room, Aguto fell backward and hit his head, resulting in a concussion. He fell again early the next morning, which left a mark on his forehead.
Gen. Darryl Williams, the commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and Africa at the time, authorized Aguto’s request to drink for the social engagement, but the informal approval did not specify definitively that he could disregard the two-drink maximum, according to the IG report.
The next morning, he was supposed to meet with then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Brink said he “didn’t seem to recognize me” during an interaction in the elevator and that it was “a little strange.”
When he and his team were traveling to the embassy to meet with Blinken, the traffic caused by the secretary prompted the military leaders to get out of the car and walk the last 50 meters, according to the investigation. He fell again during that walk, this time hitting his jaw on the concrete sidewalk, tearing his jacket and shirt sleeve.
He smelled like alcohol still, giving the then-ambassador and others the impression he was still intoxicated from the night before. Brink was concerned about the possibility that he had been drugged.
“Aguto told us that he did not recall attending this meeting,” the report reads.
He showed signs of both a concussion and intoxication, including slurred speech, trouble articulating his thoughts, and unfocused eyes.
The inspector general’s office concluded that Aguto was not drunk during the meetings on May 14, 2024. Rather, the first time he fell, in the hotel room, he sustained a concussion, and his impairment was due to the symptoms from it, not alcohol.
UKRAINE LOOKS TO PROVE ITS VALUE TO AMERICA WITH DRONE ASSISTANCE
He was also accused of creating a “toxic environment” at SAG-U, though the OIG concluded that he did not. However, there were factors that contributed to “poor command climate and low morale.”
In the report, the inspector general recommends that the Army secretary refer the incident involving the improper transportation of classified documents to the USEUCOM Special Security Office, and two other incidents regarding his discussion of classified information in an unsecured environment and reviewing classified materials while sheltering during an air raid in Kyiv.
