Pentagon confirms Ukrainian servicemen train to use Patriot systems
Around 100 Ukrainians have arrived in the USA to train how to use a Patriot missile system.
Source: Pentagon Press Secretary, Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder, during a briefing at the USA Ministry of Defence
Details: Ryder said that Ukrainian servicemen have arrived at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and have begun training with a Patriot missile system. The training programme for 90 to 100 Ukrainians will last for several months.
Pentagon’s spokesperson also recalled that on 19 January, Lloyd Austin, United States Secretary of Defence, and General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will host and convene another session of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Airbase.
"The contact group has been instrumental in identifying, synchronising and ensuring delivery of the military capabilities the Ukrainians need to defend their homeland against the Russian aggression," Ryder said.
Austin looks forward to meeting with defence leaders from the approximately 50 nations that comprise this important group dedicated to Ukraine's self-defence, Ryder added.
Prior to his arrival at Ramstein, Secretary Austin will travel to Berlin to meet with the new German Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius.
Later this month, Austin will travel to the Indo-Pacific region, where he will meet with his counterparts from South Korea and the Philippines.
Background: The day before, the media and the American military reported that Ukrainian fighters had arrived in the United States to learn how to use Patriot systems.
The Fires Center of Excellence is located at Fort Sill, where the United States conducts training on the Patriot air defence system for its own army and for military personnel from other countries.
The Ukrainians will learn from the same instructors who teach the military of the United States, allied countries and partner countries, the base staff said.
Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defence of Ukraine, said that the training with a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system takes 10 months minimum, but the US plan is to teach Ukrainian officers in 10 weeks.
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