Politico, citing two unnamed defense officials, reported yesterday that the Pentagon is considering training Ukrainian troops to operate the Patriot air defense system at a base in the U.S., instead of in a third country. One of the officials said that it would make sense to do the training in the United States, most likely at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where most of the instructors and complex simulators are located, one of the officials said. Conducting the training in Europe would be doable, but presents more logistical difficulties.
Putin, in answers to questions from reporters yesterday, promised that the Patriot, once delivered to Ukraine, would have a very short life. It is said that the Patriot systems may be sent to Ukraine. “Let them do it; we will weed out the Patriots too. And they will have to send something to replace them with or create new systems. It is a long and complicated process. It is not all that simple. We take this into account and count everything that is being sent there, how many systems there are in the depots, how many more they can manufacture and how fast, and if they can train the necessary personnel,” reported the Kremlin account of his meeting with reporters. (http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/70170 )
