US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the Defense Contact Group on Ukraine on Thursday that equipping it with air defense systems is “crucial” and stressed that training of Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets should begin in the coming weeks, EFE and Agerpres news agencies reported. report.

Lloyd AustinPhoto: Vano Shlamov / AFP / Profimedia

“We hope that these exercises will begin in the coming weeks. This will strengthen and improve the capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force in the long term and complement our security arrangements in the short and medium term,” he said at the opening of the group’s new virtual meeting.

This coalition is made up of defense chiefs from all countries that have provided military aid to Ukraine since the start of a full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, and at this new meeting they are considering Ukraine’s military needs and other issues, such as how to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F- 16.

What is the amount of military aid these countries provide to Ukraine

Earlier this week, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said the use of F-16s “will not be relevant” to a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the short term, as their delivery is part of a “long-term commitment” to Ukraine. .

The “most important” equipment currently being supplied to Ukraine is ground-based air defense systems, Lloyd Austin said, stressing: “These critical systems protect Ukrainian skies and civilian infrastructure from Russian aggression.”

In general, according to estimates, all the countries included in this group have pledged to provide Ukraine with military aid worth almost 65 billion dollars.

Russia “hoped that our resolve would waver and our unity would disintegrate. Instead, we are more united than ever and everyone can see it,” said Lloyd Austin, urging his partners to “dig deeper and continue to find creative ways to enhance” their industrial capacity.

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