A Pentagon inspector general report released last week found that retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Antonio A. Aguto Jr. improperly handled classified maps depicting the war in Ukraine and left them unsecured on a train for more than 24 hours.

Aguto commanded the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine from late 2022 until August 2024. The Wiesbaden, Germany-based unit with about 300 personnel coordinated the training and equipping of Ukrainian forces amid Russia's invasion. On March 24, 2024, he traveled to Kyiv carrying oversized SECRET/REL FVEY maps in an unsecured cylindrical tube for briefings. The maps were not packaged according to Defense Department directives, such as double-wrapping or using locked containers, and no diplomatic courier was used for cross-border transport.

Aguto and his staff boarded a State Department-chartered train in Kyiv on April 3 for the return to Germany via Poland. The train, operated by Ukrainian railways exclusively for U.S. personnel, arrived in Poland the next morning. The travel party departed without the map tube, which remained on the train unattended. Aguto realized the documents were missing later that day or the next morning and notified staff. A Ukrainian train security director found the tube on April 5 and arranged delivery via a Ukrainian national to the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, where it was recovered within 45 minutes. There was no evidence of tampering or compromise.

Aguto accepted responsibility, stating, "I am the senior guy" and "I take full responsibility for the temporary loss of classified materials." The inspector general substantiated violations of transport and safeguarding rules, noting the maps were left unsecured and recovered by Ukrainian nationals. The report recommended the Army secretary take action and refer the matter to U.S. European Command's security office.

In a separate incident on May 13, 2024, during a nearly six-hour dinner in Kyiv, Aguto consumed alcohol from two 500-milliliter bottles of chacha, a Georgian brandy with 40-50% alcohol content, exceeding U.S. European Command's limit of two drinks without a waiver. Witnesses described him as intoxicated upon leaving the restaurant. That evening, he fell backward in his hotel room, striking his head on a wall and feeling woozy. He fell twice more the next morning, including once en route to the U.S. Embassy, hitting his jaw and elbow. Symptoms including slurred speech, confusion, and lethargy led to a hospital diagnosis of moderate-to-severe concussion.

Aguto attended meetings while impaired, including one with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The report found the overindulgence caused the initial fall and subsequent incapacitation for duty, though he was not intoxicated on duty the following day. Aguto disputed some findings, claiming verbal permission from a superior and cultural norms at the event.

The 56-page report, DODIG-2026-067, stemmed from anonymous complaints in May 2024 and did not substantiate claims of a toxic command climate, attributing low morale to operational demands and living conditions. Aguto relinquished command on August 5, 2024, and retired effective November 1, 2024.