Kuleba urges allies to start training Ukrainian pilots before decision on aircraft delivery is made

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on the countries that could provide Ukraine with aircraft to start training Ukrainian pilots before a political decision on aircraft delivery is made. 

Kuleba believes that eventually allies will provide Ukraine with fighter jets, even if it takes more time than the agreement on battle tank supplies. 

"We propose to start with training. This is our request to all our friends who can potentially share aircraft with us," he said at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 18. 

At the conference, Kuleba had 15 negotiations with allies during 24 hours, including with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Iraq, Brazil, Japan, Sweden, US senators, and others. 

"We have agreed on faster delivery of weapons and ammunition, full deployment of the allied defense industry, new sanctions against the Russian Federation, promotion of (Ukraine's) peace formula, and mobilizing support for important UN votes," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry reported on Facebook.

The Munich Security Conference, held on Feb. 17-19, brought together multiple Western leaders, including Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and French President Emmanuel Macron. 

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius pledged continued support for Ukraine at the conference. 

Macron similarly called on Europe as a whole to "invest more in defense."