Pentagon spokesman BG Pat Ryder announced yesterday that the training of Ukrainians to operate the Patriot battery that the US will supply, will occur at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. “I can confirm that training for Ukrainian forces on the Patriot air defense system will begin as soon as next week at Fort Sill, Oklahoma,” he said during yesterday’s Pentagon press briefing. “The training will prepare approximately 90 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers to operate, maintain and sustain the defensive system over a training course expected to last several months.” He wouldn’t say anything more about any additional weapons and training the US is providing, ahead of next week’s meeting at Ramstein base in Germany.
Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to Washington, said that the Pentagon’s decision to train Ukrainian servicemen to use and service Patriot missile defense systems at the US Army base in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, is yet another proof of Washington’s involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. “The decision by the US Department of Defense to organize training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma is another confirmation of Washington’s de facto involvement in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of Nazi criminals from Kiev,” the Russian diplomatic mission’s press service quoted him as saying, reported TASS. “It is noteworthy that our efforts to bring to the attention of the American audience the true danger of such a line by the White House are step by step recognized by the local expert community,” the Russian diplomat continued. “For example, Washington Post observers openly admitted that the training of Ukrainian troops in the United States means that US involvement in the confrontation is growing. They noted that the administration is no longer limiting itself to strengthening the defense potential of Kiev, but is transferring new weapons to the republic in order to increase its offensive capabilities.”
“The last argument, voiced by the local journalists, vividly shows that Washington deliberately misled our country and the world, speaking about the desire to strengthen Ukraine’s self-defense ability. The real goal of the administration is to inflict on Russia as much damage on the battlefield as possible, using Ukrainians as proxies,” Antonov added.
