Ukrainians in US will complete Patriot air defence training in "a few weeks"

Borys Kremenetskyi, defence attaché of the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States, has stated that the Ukrainian servicemen training to use the Patriot air defence system are ahead of schedule and could complete the training in a matter of weeks.

Source: European Pravda, citing a comment given by Kremenetskyi to the Ukrainian service of Voice of America.

The Ukrainians arrived at the Fort Sill military base in Oklahoma in mid-January. At the time, the Pentagon said it would take several months to train them to operate the modern air defence system. But, according to Borys Kremenetskyi, the time frame has been reduced thanks to the experience of the Ukrainian servicemen.

"We are talking about weeks; I can't give an exact answer... A month has almost passed since they arrived. Usually, if you start teaching from scratch, the training period can take from several months to a year," the defence attaché said.

The training programme in Oklahoma will ensure that Ukrainians will not only quickly learn how to use the modern air defence system themselves, but after returning home they will be ready to become instructors for other military personnel.

Kremenetskyi did not specify the exact number of Ukrainians undergoing training in the United States. He did note, however, that there are enough specialists who can operate Patriot systems in Ukraine, so the main issue is to provide more of these systems.

"This system will significantly strengthen the capabilities of our air defence, especially in countering ballistic missiles. So this is a significant improvement in the capabilities of our air defence system. Of course, the one system that we are getting is not enough. We are working to get more; we are ready, and we have specialists who we are ready to send for more training," Kremenetskyi said.

Previously: Washington announced on 21 December that it would be sending the first Patriot system to Ukraine as part of the next package of military assistance. After that, Germany promised to provide Ukraine with Patriot systems. In addition, the Netherlands will supply Ukraine with two Patriot anti-aircraft missile launchers and a number of missiles.

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