The United States plans to begin training Ukrainian troops on the Patriot air defense system at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, later this month, according to three defense officials.
The first group will consist of just under 100 Ukrainian service members who have some experience in air defense systems. The training is expected to take several months, the officials said.
The training at Fort Sill was first reported on CNN on Tuesday.
Three US defense officials told NBC News on December 13 that the US was on the verge of approving sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, eventually agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders. desperate for sturdier weapons to shoot down incoming russian missiles.
A week later, at a press conference during his visit to Washington, DC, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President Joe Biden for providing a Patriot missile battery, then asked for another.
Biden said: «We’re working on it.»
Earlier this month, Germany said it would provide a battery of Patriot missiles to Ukraine.
Patriot systems, which use surface-to-air missiles to destroy cruise missiles and other fast-moving airborne targets, typically require crews of up to 90 to undergo at least 10 weeks of training, though as few as three soldiers can fire it if necessary. , the US Army has said.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military has previously defied expectations for how quickly its troops have learned to use Western weaponry.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in December that the Patriot is an outdated system and said Russia would «take down» the Patriots.
Russian and Ukrainian officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the news.