Biden Approves Training Program for Ukrainian Pilots on F-16 Fighter Jets

On Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced at the G7 summit that Washington supports training programs for Ukrainian pilots on advanced F-16 fighter jets. According to Reuters, the training for the F-16 fighter jets will take place in Europe and the supplementary training period will take months, with American experts estimating the fastest time required to complete F-16 training at about 18 months. The Ukrainian Defense Minister had previously announced that Patriot air defense systems had arrived in the country. Earlier this month, Ukraine claimed that for the first time, it shot down a Kinzhal missile over Kyiv using the U.S. Patriot air defense system. Ukrainian officials have long been negotiating with their allies to receive advanced weapons to intercept enemy missiles. In recent months, Ukrainian forces have been trained in the U.S. and Europe to use Patriot systems. There have been numerous attacks on the Ukrainian capital; many drones have been shot down. A new package of sanctions against Russia was unveiled ahead of the G7 summit. Russia launched 30 cruise missiles at Ukraine; Kyiv reported that it shot down 29 of them. Russia claimed to have destroyed a Patriot system; Ukraine called it empty propaganda. Ukraine stated that it shot down six Russian hypersonic missiles.