Austin addresses Ukrainian troops in US for training ahead of their return home

by Mike Brest, Defense Reporter |
| April 10, 2022 06:42 PM


Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with some of the Ukrainian forces who received training in the United States and are set to return home shortly.

The Ukrainian troops, which had been in the U.S. participating in the prescheduled military education program at the Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, got additional training since the conclusion of the program last month on some of the weapons the U.S. is providing to them.



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The group is set to leave the U.S. to return to Ukraine on Sunday, the day Austin spoke with the soldiers.

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One of the weapons for which these service members are being trained is the Switchblade tactical unmanned aerial system.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby affirmed last week that “less than a dozen” Ukrainian forces had been trained to use the small, precise weapons that have the capability to target in “kamikaze” fashion.

“The Secretary thanked them for their service and for their courage, noting the skill with which the Ukrainian Armed Forces are fighting Russia's unprovoked invasion,” Kirby said in a statement about Austin’s call. “And he pledged continued U.S support for providing and coordinating additional security assistance.”

“The Ukrainian forces received training on patrol craft operations, communications, and maintenance while at NASVSCIATTS,” Kirby added. “Since the conclusion of the NAVSCIATTS course in early March, the U.S. military provided the group additional advanced tactical training and training on the systems the United States has provided to Ukraine, including on the Switchblade UAV.”

The U.S. has provided $1.7 billion worth of military assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. In the six-plus weeks since then, Russian forces have faltered, facing significant resistance from Ukrainian forces in addition to severe self-inflicted problems. They sought to capture the capital of Kyiv, but they withdrew their troops from the area as they refocus their attention on the Donbas region in the southeastern part of the country.

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