U.S. may train Ukrainian pilots on F-15, F-16 fighter jets

KIEV, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The United States may train Ukrainian pilots on F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said on Friday.

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved an amendment to the U.S. defense budget for the 2023 fiscal year that will enable the beginning of the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-15 and F-16 jets, Yermak wrote on Telegram.

The training program for the Ukrainian pilots will cost 100 million U.S. dollars, Yermak said.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova said that the U.S. defense budget bill for 2023 envisages allocating Ukraine 1 billion dollars in security aid in the 2023 fiscal year, which runs between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023.

To take effect, the draft law must be passed by the U.S. Senate and signed by U.S. President Joe Biden.