While Russian leaders continue to make all sorts of banal and unenforceable threats regarding outside interference against their invasion of Ukraine, the international community is laughing in their face…at least somewhat.
Sure, there are no foreign troops on the ground in Ukraine, (yet), bu there is plenty of western equipment being used to eradicate the Russian army at an alarming pace.
Now, in what feels like a bit of a workaround for the hopes of western intervention, Ukrainian troops will be traveling to the United States to train on some of the most advanced missile systems in the world.
The Ukrainians are set to begin training on the Patriot missile system in the United States as soon as next week, two US officials familiar with the matter tell CNN.
The training program will take place at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, where the US conducts its own training on operating and maintaining the advanced air defense system. Fort Sill is one of the Army’s four basic training locations and home to the service’s field artillery school, which has been training service members for more than a century.
The training for the Ukrainians on the complex system is expected to take “several months,” said Laura Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia.
The US isn’t the only country sending such advanced systems to Ukraine, as Germany has also committed to sending a Patriot system of its own.
The move could unite further anger at the Kremlin, but given just how poorly Russia’s troops are performing in Ukraine, these sort of threats are likely all bark and no bite.
