The Pentagon is looking at "a range of options" for training Ukrainian soldiers to use weapons systems provided to them since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, a senior U.S. defense official told The Hill on Wednesday.
"We are looking at options for additional Switchblade (drone) training and where and when that might occur and how we would do that," the unidentified official said. "Certainly, one option that would be available to us would be to utilize troops that are closer to Ukraine, obviously troops that are on NATO's eastern flank, and that still remains an open option to us."
Some of the new military equipment the U.S. is sending to Ukraine will require training, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
"The systems that will probably require some additional training for Ukrainian forces are the howitzers (and) ... the counter artillery radar, not a very difficult system to operate, but it's not one that they have in their inventory," he said, per Reuters.
Thousands of U.S. troops have been deployed to reinforce the eastern areas of NATO since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his attack on neighboring Ukraine.
According to the defense official, American soldiers based in Poland and Romania could train a small number of Ukrainian fighters before sending them back into Ukraine to train others.
No decisions have been made yet, according to the official.
The Hill reports that a small number of Ukrainian troops were already trained on the use of Switchblade drones, as Washington has provided the former Soviet country with hundreds of weapons capable of destroying vehicles.
Trained in the United States, the Ukrainian soldiers returned to their country earlier this month.
Kirby also said the Pentagon reached out to Russia's defense minister less than a week or so ago, but the Russians were not interested in talking.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.