A group of 65 Ukrainian military personnel is completing intensive training in the Patriot air defense system. Training takes place at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

 This is reported by CNN.

 CNN journalists were invited to the base just a few days before the expected release of the Ukrainians after the accelerated course. Fort Sill is the only place on the territory of the USA where Ukrainians are trained to work with American weapons systems.

 According to the American military, the Ukrainians distinguished themselves. They learned the basics of the Patriot system so quickly that they were given additional, intensive training rarely available to their American counterparts who had completed the same course.

 "Our assessment is that Ukrainian soldiers are impressive and very quick learners due to their extensive knowledge of air defense and combat zone experience," said Brigadier General Shane Morgan.

 Now, the Patriot system is slated to be deployed in Ukraine in the coming weeks - much sooner than expected - giving the country additional protection against Russian missiles that had been requested since the war began just over a year ago.

 U.S. officials also said Tuesday that the Abrams tanks will be deployed sooner than expected.

 At the same time, CNN points out that the two Patriot systems heading to Ukraine - one provided by the United States, the other jointly by Germany and the Netherlands - will not be enough to protect entire Ukrainian cities from complex Russian missile strikes.

 "Patriot will not be able to protect the whole city", for example, Kyiv, said one of the senior officials of the Ministry of Defense.

But it will be better than the air defense systems currently used by the Ukrainians, which cannot protect against Russian ballistic missile attacks.

 Intensive training

 Ukrainian men and women, ages 19 to 67, trained from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. six days a week for 10 weeks, officials said. Many of them were qualified engineers before the war, and some have multiple degrees, and all were selected by Ukrainian military leaders to train in the US.

 "I think just because of their fighting experience at home, they were able to absorb things very easily - the best I've seen so far, and I've coached a lot of countries," one of the American coaches told CNN.

 Stressing how advanced the Ukrainians were in air defense when they arrived at Fort Sill, a senior US Defense Department official said the Ukrainian battalion commander had shot down Russian missiles several times during the war.

 "It was an honor to meet these soldiers," said a senior Fort Sill official. "Their stories were both terrifying and amazing. And I think we learned as much from them as we taught them."