The Pentagon versus Congress is causing tension over monitoring billions in Ukraine aid - with the former struggling to keep up with oversight of its spending. A key barometer will be the Pentagon's handling and complete accounting of the funds, which has lagged in other areas, sparking scrutiny from congressional committees.

Concerns are mounting on Capitol Hill about the Biden administration's ability to properly account for the unprecedented wave of cash and to track the thousands of U.S. weapons heading to Ukraine for its war with Russia. And given the Pentagon's recent track record concerning congressional oversight, it's coming under increased scrutiny from members of both parties — from progressive Elizabeth Warren to libertarian Rand Paul.

The White House is hoping the latest emergency funding measure is enough to sustain Ukraine through the next several months of the conflict, but Congress is already bracing for the next cash fight.

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, acknowledged that U.S. weapons sent to war zones have often gone missing or unused, but said "Ukraine is a different story" because its forces are well-trained and have been using the weapons for several years already.

The continued Western sanctions on Russia will hurt the global economy and could exacerbate problems in the US itself, Anatoly Antonov, Russia's ambassador to Washington, has warned.

"The declared measures are yet another testament to Washington's Russophobic hysteria. They go hand in hand with the attempts to blame Russia for global economic imbalances, including the increase in fuel prices. The flawed restrictions policies will only make world affairs worse. They will lead to new supply chain disruptions and impact food security."

The Russian envoy added that, even facing sanctions, Moscow is ready to service its debts without delays. Washington's attempts to derail this process "will only undermine the trust in the US."

The looming global food crisis that could result from skyrocketing food prices was enabled by a series of policy mistakes by Washington and Brussels, Maksim Oreshkin, economic adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, told RT. The conflict in Ukraine alone could not have caused the crisis on such a massive scale.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization's international food price index shows that between April 2020 and April 2022, global food prices rose by more than 60%. The increase occurred for the most part before February 2022, when Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine.

In the four years from 2016 to 2020, the index grew by less than 7 points, but it increased by a whopping 27 points, from 98.1 to 125.7, in 2020-21. After the second year of the pandemic, the index stood at 141.1.

Since Russia's military operation began, the index has risen by a further 17 points.

"Swings like that, with such huge increases in prices, are not happening due to one reason. It's always a combination of a number of reasons which is leading to such a result."

He points to America's overreaction to the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the first major factors that triggered the food price hikes. Since February 2020, the US "increased the money supply by almost 40%," he said, adding that the $6 trillion the US printed to support its economy ended up flooding global markets, and led to the rise in food, commodity and energy prices.

Europe's over-reliance on renewable energy, which drew resources away from food production, and on short-term gas contracts that led to gas price hikes in late 2021, are also significant factors. Up to 4% of biofuel in Germany is made from food and animal feed.

Oreshkin said these factors also led to a decrease in fertilizer production, which in turn hit harvests and drove up food prices. The waves of sanctions unleashed by the US and its allies on Moscow after the start of the military operation in Ukraine significantly exacerbated the crisis.

According to Oreshkin, the 20 million tons of wheat supposedly blocked in Ukraine account for 2.5% of global wheat production. He also stated that Russia is prepared to export 13 million more tons this year than in 2021.

He also pointed to global food inequality as a root cause. "In reality, there is enough food on this planet," but developed nations such as the US are simply consuming much more food than the others around the world.

"They're printing the money, they're taking all the food, and of course they are taking the food from those who cannot afford it. If countries like the United States consume less, there will be enough food for everyone."