The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed Tuesday that, starting next week, it will begin training about a hundred Ukrainian soldiers in the use of Patriot systems at the Fort Sill military base in the state of Oklahoma.
According to Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder, once the Patriot systems can be used on the battlefield, the Ukrainian army will increase its air defense capabilities and safeguard the population against possible Russian offensives.
Laura Cooper, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, told CNN that the training program in Oklahoma could last «several months» and acknowledged that she was not in a position to give a «specific time frame».
Ryder also confirmed that the training program for Ukrainian battalions in Europe will also start next week, but stressed that this will not require a «significant increase or any increase in terms of deployment of U.S. instructors».
In this regard, Russia has already warned in recent weeks that it would react if the supply of Patriot systems to Ukraine were to be accompanied by an increase in the number of U.S. soldiers assigned to military bases in Europe.
The United States announced at the end of December the delivery of Patriot systems to Ukraine as part of a new economic aid package to the European country, which was launched at the time of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
