The Pentagon will soon begin training Ukrainian personnel to operate and maintain the Patriot missile system, the handover of which was officially announced yesterday during President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington.. It is reported by CNN with reference to Pentagon officials..

US Department of Defense officials say exercises will start 'very soon'. At the same time, the Pentagon did not specify when exactly the exercises would begin and how long it would take Ukrainians to master the complex system.. It is known that they will last for several months.

The Patriot system costs between $450 million and $550 million, depending on platform configuration, according to the Pentagon.. Each rocket costs about $4 million.

The United States has already taught about 3.1 thousand Ukrainians how to work on various weapons systems. Almost half of them learned how to use the M777 howitzer or HIMARS rocket launchers, two of the most important types of weapons for Ukrainian operations.. The Ukrainian military has also been trained to work with a variety of equipment, various types of artillery, drones and other systems..

In addition, the United States will also soon begin an expanded training program for Ukrainian forces, including joint maneuvers and combined arms exercises.. This program will allow about 500 soldiers to be trained monthly for larger combat operations..

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Earlier it became known what else was included in the new package of defense assistance for Ukraine from the States, the total cost of which amounted to $1.85 billion.

As reported, during 2023, instructors in the UK plan to conduct military training for another 19,200 Ukrainian defenders..