MADRID, 11 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United States government has acknowledged being “open” to training Ukrainian pilots on American soil to prepare them to drive F-16 fighters, despite the fact that the parties have not yet set a date for the start of a program that, according to the authorities Ukrainian companies, has suffered several delays despite public promises made by some Western partners.
The F-16s have been in recent months one of Kiev’s main claims to strengthen its air capacity, but for now the delivery of fighters has been limited to the Soviet-made MiG-29s, provided by Poland and Slovakia. Washington would be waiting for a concrete plan from its European partners to detail its role, which would be limited to the training of troops.
A spokesman for the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, has clarified that the Joe Biden Administration “without a doubt” is willing for part of this training to take place on US soil, within a broader collaboration with which the North American country wants to reinforce “in the long term” the capacity of the Ukrainian forces to face future threats, reports CNN.
Still, and regardless of what may be agreed in the coming weeks, there will be no immediate changes on the Ukrainian front. “It’s going to be a while until the fighters can reach Ukraine and integrate into their fleet,” Kirby acknowledged, after some sources already place this milestone in the next year.
