The arrested major served in an air brigade tasked with shooting down the same Russian drones and missiles his intelligence helped target Ukrainian airbases.
The program addresses Ukraine's critical need for qualified F-16 pilots while keeping training operations safely outside Ukrainian territory where they would be vulnerable to Russian attacks.
The arrival of F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine will not alter the United States' policy restricting Ukraine's long-range strikes into Russian territory, and the US also does not plan to intercept Russian missiles over Ukraine.