The US State Department considers the intentions of a range of countries to start training Ukrainian pilots to be an essential process.

"There is an important process as it relates with the alliance of a number of countries providing important security assistance to our Ukrainian partners," stressed Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the US Department of State, during a briefing.

The State Department representative stressed that the aim of Western countries is to do everything possible to ensure that Ukraine has the assets to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

"And you have seen a number of countries step up and share systems, train individuals, and we look forward to deepening our partnerships in order to do that and play our role as well," Patel added.

The UK reportedly agreed to start training Ukrainian pilots in the summer and has been working with other countries to provide F-16 fighters to Ukraine.

In addition, French President Emmanuel Macron said that following his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he had "opened the door" to training pilots from Ukraine, without specifying any details.