Pentagon training a small number of Ukrainians in the U.S. on new weapons

A small number of Ukrainians who have been in the U.S. since the fall in professional military education programs have received rudimentary training on weapons systems that are new to the Ukrainian military, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said in a press briefing Wednesday. 

The U.S. has taken advantage of having a small number of Ukrainians in the country and pulled them aside for a couple of days to receive training on how to operate switchblade drones. Kirby said training on the drones only takes a couple of days. 

The small number of individuals are expected to go back to Ukraine relatively soon, as was initially planned and can train additional Ukrainian soldiers on the weapons.

The $800 million in assistance President Biden approved in March included 100 switchblade drones. Kirby on Wednesday said that all 100 of those drones have shipped to the region and are on their way to Ukraine, if they're not in Ukraine already.