NNA – U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, discussing the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets in the United States.
ldquo;President Biden reiterated the U.S. commitment to support Ukraine#39;s defense against Russian aggression for as long as it takes, and to hold Russia accountable for its actions,rdquo; a White House statement said after the phone call.
quot;On behalf of the American people, President Biden expressed his admiration for the bravery and sacrifice of the Ukrainian people fighting for their freedom and their secure future.quot;
ldquo;Given the complexities and the specialized English that#39;s required to fly these aircraft,rdquo; Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said, English language training is set to start in September at the Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas, before flying training in Arizona in October.
Ryder said the training was agreed to ldquo;support hellip; the international effort to develop and strengthen Ukraine#39;s long-term defenses.rdquo;
quot;Part of this training will be assessing the individual pilots#39; skill level, which will help to determine how long that training will last,quot; he said. quot;Your basic, new F-16 pilot with not a lot of training on the U.S. side, that training typically lasts about eight months.quot;
Experienced pilots are expected to be trained in as little as five months.–agencies
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