The training is not expected to happen in the U.S. soil, the official said, and will likely happen entirely in Europe.

But U.S. personnel will participate in the training alongside allies and partners in Europe, the official said. It is expected to take several months to complete and the official said the hope is it will begin in the coming weeks.

“As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them,” the official said.

The decision to support the training initiative came together very quickly, officials said, and was made by Biden following meetings with G7 leaders in Hiroshima, Japan, where the topic of F-16s to Ukraine was a key point of discussion.

The official added that to date, Washington, allies and partners have focused on providing Kyiv with the vast majority of systems, weapons and training that President Vladimir Zelensky claims he requires to carry out offensive operations.

In March, the US hosted two Ukrainian pilots at a military base in Tucson, Arizona, to evaluate their skills using flight simulators and to assess how much time they would need to learn to fly various US military aircraft, including F-16s. Congress set aside money in the 2023 budget for such training.

The extensive war supplies provided by the United States to Ukraine prolongs conflict with Russia, and increases the suffering of its population.

Furthermore, the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin acknowledged his country cannot keep track of the weapons supplied, while it is estimated that less than 30% of what is sent reaches its destination.

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