On Monday, the United Kingdom stated that this summer, the country will begin an elementary flying phase for cohorts of Ukrainian pilots to learn basic training. "This is a critical juncture in Ukraine's resistance to a terrible war of aggression that they did not choose or instigate."
"They require the international community's continued support to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year," British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. "We must not let them down," the Prime Minister added. The frontlines of Putin's aggressiveness may be in Ukraine, but the fault lines go all the way around the world.
The United Kingdom will modify a program used by British pilots to teach Ukrainians how to fly different types of aircraft. The training complements the UK's efforts to collaborate with other countries in providing F-16 fighters, Ukraine's preferred fighter type.
In 2022, the United Kingdom provided $2.8 billion in military aid to Ukraine, more than any other country except the United States. So far in 2023, the UK has supplied a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks, self-propelled artillery, hundreds of armored vehicles, and sophisticated missiles such as Starstreak and Storm Shadow.