The UK announced on Monday that this summer country will commence an elementary flying phase for cohorts of Ukrainian pilots to learn basic training.
“This is a crucial moment in Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke. They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
Prime Minister also said that “We must not let them down. The frontlines of Putin’s war of aggression may be in Ukraine but the fault lines stretch all over the world. It is in all our interest to ensure Ukraine succeeds and Putin’s barbarism is not rewarded.
The UK will adapt the program used by UK pilots to provide Ukrainians with piloting skills they can apply to different kinds of aircraft.
The training goes hand in hand with UK efforts to work with other countries on providing F-16 jets – Ukraine’s fighter jets of choice.
The UK provided $2.8 billion worth of military support to Ukraine in 2022 – more than any country other than the US.
So far in 2023, the UK has provided equipment including a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks, self-propelled guns, hundreds of armored vehicles and sophisticated missiles including Starstreak and Storm Shadow.