Once such training programmes in Europe are full, the White House said it is committed to training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in the U.S.
At a news conference on Friday, White House spokesperson John Kirby stated that it is crucial to expedite the process of pilot training on military aircrafts as well as taking care of maintenance and other logistics.
Before jets can arrive in Ukraine and be incorporated into the air fleet, he predicted, it would take some time. And it’s not simply a matter of transferring the actual airframes; it also involves providing pilots with the proper training and organising all of the maintenance, logistical, and sustainment activities.
Kirby emphasised that English language instruction for Ukrainian specialists is crucial and that Western nations, particularly Denmark and the Netherlands, collaborate on building a training programme for Ukrainian pilots.
“All the technical manuals are in English, and all the controls inside the aircraft are in English,” stated Kirby. “A pilot is going to need to know the language at least fundamentally.
“All we can say is that there is a multi-step process, and we’re dedicated to helping our allies move that process along as quickly as it is able to,” the statement reads.
Corruption
Following the arrest of the director of a textile company for supplying improper equipment to Ukraine’s territorial defence, the defence ministry of Ukraine claimed on Friday that it had no involvement in the $950,000 purchase of subpar uniforms.
The Ministry of Interior reported that the uniforms the textile company obtained three state contracts for in 2022 showed to be unsuitable for winter fighting in testing conducted in laboratories.
The company’s director faces a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison and a three-year restriction on holding certain jobs. The information on more participants in the scheme is being gathered by law enforcement.
The Defence Ministry claimed that it was not involved in the contracts that were made between the firm and a military unit.
“Departments of the Defence Ministry were NOT INVOLVED in the procurement process of identifying the need, finding a contractor, concluding a contract, and monitoring the implementation of technical conditions,” the press release stated, emphasising that the ministry has “zero tolerance for corruption.”
According to an investigation published on Thursday by the Ukrainian publication Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, the Defence Ministry spent $33 million on “winter” clothing for the soldiers in 2022 from a Turkish supplier.
The associated contracts allegedly were altered to raise the price during shipment, and the clothing were found to be unsuitable for winter weather.
Friday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Telegram that he was dismissing the heads of the nation’s regional military recruitment offices due to allegations of corruption, which included illegal enrichment and the movement of draft-eligible men across the border while a wartime embargo was in effect.
Veterans of battle would be offered the new positions, according to Zelenskyy.
“This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is treason,” he declared.
The Ukrainian security services have so far cracked down on corruption, filing 112 criminal cases against high officials for accepting bribes and engaging in corrupt behaviour. 33 more individuals are about to face charges.
In addition to fending off a full-scale invasion by Russia, Kyiv is fighting corruption and working towards EU membership.
a Russian air campaign
The recent airstrikes by Russia in western Ukraine that targeted civilian infrastructure and killed a child were “war crimes and must not go unpunished,” the foreign ministry of France said in a statement late on Friday.
According to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in close coordination with its allies, France would increase its military assistance to Ukraine, particularly by bolstering air defence capabilities.
The statement added, “France continues to fully assist Ukrainian and international jurisdictions in their fight against the impunity of crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
Earlier on Friday, a Russian bombing in western Ukraine claimed the life of an 8-year-old kid, while Ukrainian drones continued their daily campaign against Moscow.
Early on Friday, several explosions were audible throughout Kyiv. Residents were instructed to seek shelter in air raid shelters by Mayor Vitali Klitschko, and Ukrainian authorities had issued a general air raid alert.
A missile was shot down by Ukraine on Friday close to a city children’s hospital. The missile’s debris fell close to the hospital in Kiev, but no casualties were reportedly sustained.
US help
The Biden administration has requested $8 billion in additional cash for humanitarian aid through the end of the year, in addition to more than $13 billion in emergency defence funding for Ukraine.
The White House’s request for additional funding for Ukraine may prove to be too much for Republicans, who are under a lot of pressure from the party’s front-runner for president, Donald Trump, who has an ambivalent attitude towards the conflict. Additionally, a recent CNN poll showed that some voters are becoming less supportive of the effort.
A new round of penalties was announced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department on Friday and targeted significant figures in the Russian financial elite as well as a business group.
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said, “Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can continue business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people. Our worldwide alliance will keep holding those responsible for the unlawful and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine accountable.
Adeyemo claimed that as a result of the most recent round of sanctions, “all property, and interests in property, of the persons named in the fresh sanctions who are in the United States, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked.”
Reuters, The Associated Press, and Agence France-Presse all contributed information to this article.
