Kirby said that continued military aid to Ukraine will be a topic of discussion between President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz when the two leaders meet at the White House on Friday.
Training of Ukrainian pilots
A US government official revealed to “Sky News Arabia” that the administration of US President Joe Biden “is heading to approve in the coming weeks a plan prepared by the Pentagon to start training Ukrainian pilots” on the “F-16” fighter at air bases inside the United States, on the condition that the matter be suspended. Transfer it to them until a political decision is taken.
The official, who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to talk about the issue now, added that the F-16 training process may require at least 10 months and will be accompanied by training programs for its maintenance and provision of infrastructure.
He added that the US administration’s tendency to take this step came after pressure from European allies on the United States, and also because of the demand of the majority of Democratic and Republican members of Congress to accelerate the process of raising the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force and help them quickly resolve the battle against Moscow, because the time factor does not serve the Ukrainians and there is no An American desire, according to the official, for the conflict with Russia to turn into a long-term drain.
In the details of the plan submitted by the Pentagon to the White House, about 120 Ukrainian pilots will train on the F-16 fighter for about 8 to 10 months, provided that these fighters remain at the disposal of the US Air Force until a political decision is taken at the NATO level to transfer them. To the ownership of the Ukrainian Air Force.
The official explained that such a step, i.e. the start of preemptive training operations, would be taken by other countries such as Britain on “Tornado” fighters and France on “Mirage” fighters, considering that by the end of next summer, the issue of the decision to transfer these fighters to the possession of Ukraine will be less difficult. .
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