Twenty future Ukrainian civilian pilots are being trained in the Czech Republic as the Russian invasion put courses in Ukraine on hold, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said Tuesday. The students of the Kyiv-based National Aviation University started their training at two Czech airports in autumn 2023 and are expected to finish by the end of this year. “After the fighting ends, Ukraine will need a rapid reconstruction of its infrastructure, of which civil air transport is an integral part,” Lipavsky told reporters. He added there was “a very good outlook” that the current one-year course would be followed by another. The new pilots will get a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) and be able to fly any commercial aircraft upon finishing the course co-financed by the United States. “I hope I will be an airline pilot and I would be really pleased if I could become a captain someday,” 20-year-old Vera Litvin told AFP. Born in the war-ravaged city of Dnipro, Litvin previously attended a practical course in Poland. At present, she is flying a small Cessna 152 as part of her training in the Czech Republic. “After we have enough hours, we will fly on twin engines and we will probably also have some simulator of some bigger airplanes,” Litvin said. The Russian invasion in February 2022 halted civilian aviation in Ukraine as the planes risked being targeted by missile attacks. But the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine said the country currently had 200 civilian aircraft in operation. Some are being used on charter flights, while others are engaged in United Nations missions, in forest firefighting and humanitarian aid. The country’s three major airlines — SkyUp, Windrose and Skyline Express — are all running flights outside Ukraine. “I would like to fly at SkyUp or some Ukrainian company to help with the development, but I don’t really have any preferences. I just want to fly,” said Litvin.