NBC broke the story, subsequently picked up by other news outlets, that two Ukrainian fighter pilots are in America undergoing a “training assessment” in order “to determine how long it could take to train them to fly attack aircrafts, including F-16 fighter jets.” The sources are two Congressional officials and a senior U.S. official, all unnamed. The Ukrainians’ skills are being evaluated on simulators at a U.S. military base in Tucson, Arizona, the officials said, and they may be joined by more of their fellow pilots soon, says NBC. U.S. authorities have approved bringing up to 10 more Ukrainian pilots for further assessment as early as this month, the officials said.
Two administration officials said that this isn’t a training program and that the Ukrainians will not fly any aircraft during their time in America.
