Zelensky: F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots to begin this month.

In an address to heads of Ukrainian diplomatic missions on Aug.

2, President Zelensky said[1] that F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots is to begin this month.   "The delivery and combat use of F-16 by our pilots should take place as soon as possible," stated Zelensky. At the Vilnius NATO summit in July, Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov signed[2] a memorandum with 11 countries outlining the F-16 training terms for Ukrainian pilots.

Zelensky's announcement corresponds with the information that officials told[3] Reuters during the summit. They said that the program will start in Denmark in August and a training hub will be set up in Romania. However, U.S. officials believe the exact plans of the training remain unclear and are still waiting on European leaders to submit a definitive training plan, CNN reported[4] on Aug.

1. The start of the program is contingent upon receiving authorization from the U.S. The transfer of F-16 equipment and materials, including flight simulators and training manuals, also requires U.S. government authorization.

Ukraine has received Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland[5] and Slovakia[6] but has long been pushing for the more advanced American-made aircraft. On July 21, U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that Ukraine will receive F-16 fighter jets before the end of the year, after President Joe Biden gave a "green light" to allow European countries to launch[7] the training program earlier that month.

The timeline for the Ukrainian training program accelerates the standard U.S. Air Force pilot training by omitting certain missions and tasks, such as air-to-air refueling and instrument landing procedures, that are not essential for Ukrainian pilots on the battlefield. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has previously said it requires at least four squadrons of F-16s - 48 planes in total - to liberate territory from Russia.
[8]

Endless Russian assaults near Kreminna test Ukraine's defenses

Editor's note: The Kyiv Independent is not disclosing the full names or deployed positions of the Ukrainian soldiers interviewed in the story due to security concerns amid the ongoing war.

Donetsk Oblast - The narrow, partly destroyed road through the Serebrianskyi Forest in the northern part of Do...

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References

1. ^ said (www.president.gov.ua)
2. ^ signed (kyivindependent.com)
3. ^ told (www.reuters.com)
4. ^ reported (kyivindependent.com)
5. ^ Poland (kyivindependent.com)
6. ^ Slovakia (kyivindependent.com)
7. ^ launch (kyivindependent.com)
8. ^ requires (kyivindependent.com)
9. ^ Endless Russian assaults near Kreminna test Ukraine's defensesEditor's note: The Kyiv Independent is not disclosing the full names or deployed positions of the Ukrainian soldiers interviewed in the story due to security concerns amid the ongoing war.

   Donetsk Oblast - The narrow, partly destroyed road through the Serebrianskyi Forest in the northern part of Do... (kyivindependent.com)