MOSCOW, September 3. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Sunday that Kiev and Paris have agreed on organizing training of Ukrainian pilots in France.
He said that he had a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron earlier in the day. "There is an important agreement on training of our pilots in France - our coalition of advanced fighter jets is getting stronger," he said in a video address posted on his Telegram channel.
Ukraine has been asking Western countries to begin training of Ukrainian pilots to operate F-16 fighter jets and supply such jets to the Ukrainian army. Denmark and the Netherland have already announced plans to train Ukrainian pilots and that nine more countries will be involved. Commander of US Air Forces in Europe and Africa General James Hecker said earlier at a meeting with a Washington-based group of military observers, in which TASS participates, that it could take up to five years to train Ukrainian F-16 squadrons for participation in combat operations. At the same time, according to him, the transfer of aircraft by the West will not radically change the course of combat operations in Kiev's favor.