An arms package for Ukraine worth 1,129 million euros. That is the volume of military aid that Spain is going to commit to the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, during his visit to Madrid this Monday, according to sources familiar with the operation. An unprecedented figure in Spanish military aid to Ukraine or any other country. Zelensky, who ten days ago had to suspend his visit to Spain due to the Russian offensive, will be received in audience by the King and will meet with Pedro Sánchez, with whom he will sign a bilateral security agreement that includes supplies of a panoply of military equipment, ranging from Patriot missiles to Leopard battle tanks, as well as a wide range of products made in Spain. Unlike what has happened until now, most of the material will not leave the arsenals of the Armed Forces but will be manufactured expressly by the Spanish industry.
This new aid package includes the delivery of a second batch of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, which will be added to the half dozen already supplied in April. In total, the Ministry of Defense will have provided Kiev with a dozen of these anti-aircraft missiles capable of intercepting the cruise missiles with which Russia is destroying nerve centers and infrastructure in Ukraine. The cost of each Patriot is around two million euros, according to military sources. In addition, 19 second-hand Leopard 2A4 battle tanks will be delivered in addition to the ten already supplied last year. The first ten of this new batch of tanks are being rehabilitated, after having been stored for a decade and being in very poor condition, so that they can be sent to Ukraine before June 30, along with the Patriots and abundant ammunition.
But the bulk of the compromised material corresponds to new Spanish-made weapons. The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and her Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, finalized on the 22nd, by videoconference, the new aid package, which includes a large batch of 155-millimeter artillery shells; as well as anti-drone systems, tactical vehicles, optronic surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, remotely operated weapon towers, embarked mortars and portable rocket launchers, among other equipment.
Most of these systems are produced by Spanish companies such as TRC, Indra, Escribano, Uro, Expal or Instalaza, so their delivery could be delayed until manufacturing is completed; For this reason, according to the sources consulted, it is planned that the agreement will have an initial duration of two years, extendable to a third. In addition, Spain will extend the combat training program for Ukrainian soldiers to another 400 recruits, of which 4,000 have already been trained under the direction of the Toledo Training Coordination Center (TTCC).
Sources familiar with the operation explain that this military aid package was already approved on April 16 in the Council of Ministers. The official reference to that meeting, provided to the media, included a section under the heading “supply of material to strengthen military capabilities”, for an “estimated value of 1,129,648,285.92 euros”, but it was not indicated in At no time did the destination of this material be Ukraine, and it was interpreted as an increase in the budget for the Spanish Armed Forces.
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The official reference was limited to pointing out that “the current international situation is immersed in a context of high volatility, uncertainty and instability, which is why it is necessary to urgently reinforce military capabilities in order to increase the available strategic reserve.” “The object of the framework agreement,” he added, “is the supply of various materials to strengthen the capabilities of various weapons systems, materials, ammunition and military equipment.” Not a word about the kyiv Government.
The item is charged to the Ministry of Defense because it is this department that will act as an intermediary and pay the companies, although it will then pass the bill to the EU to try to get it to finance it. On March 18, the European Council approved a specific fund for Ukraine of 5 billion euros. Until now, the delivery of weapons to the Zelensky Government was paid for by the European Peace Support Fund (FEAP), whose maximum limit is 17 billion euros for the period 2021-27. The Spanish operation was launched after, on March 18, Pedro Sánchez received for the first time in La Moncloa executives from the main Spanish defense companies, whom he asked for an effort to meet the needs of Ukraine in the face of the invasion. Russian.
According to the Kiel Institute (Germany), which tracks military aid from different countries to Ukraine, between January 2022 – the invasion took place a month later – and February 2024, the United States had provided 42.24 billion euros in weapons; Germany, 18.610 million; United Kingdom 9.22 billion; France, 5,650 million; Italy, 1,000 million; and Spain, 330.
Zelensky was scheduled to visit Spain and Portugal on May 17, but the trip was canceled due to the Russian offensive that threatened the city of Kharkov. Only ten days later, it has been reactivated and is scheduled to take place this Monday, As reported on Friday by Cadena SER, although the Government remains silent about the program, which has been cut.
What is planned is for Zelensky and Sánchez to sign a security agreement similar to those that kyiv has already signed with the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark or Canada, the objective of which is to guarantee sustained long-term military support and serve as a bridge until it can become a full member of NATO and the EU. The negotiations to reach this agreement, which the Government does not plan to submit to Congress for ratification, as it has not been given the legal status of an international treaty, began at the beginning of March and have already been concluded. Sánchez and Zelensky spoke for the last time on May 7. After that telephone conversation, the Spaniard announced, in a message through the social network X, his intention to attend the summit for peace in Ukraine convened next month in Switzerland.
The bilateral security agreement between Spain and Ukraine will provide stability and predictability to the military support that Spain is already providing to kyiv through the delivery of weapons, the training of combatants or the care of dozens of wounded in the military hospital in Zaragoza. . The pact commits Spain to providing Kiev with medium-term military assistance, supplying it with weapons, collaborating in the training of its troops and helping it develop its defense industry, in addition to exchanging information in the areas of intelligence and cybersecurity. The bilateral agreements signed by kyiv with several European countries respond to the call made last July by the G-7, the club of the richest countries in the world, in compensation for the fact that the NATO summit in Vilnius (Lithuania) put off Ukraine’s request for membership.
Although Spain is not part of the G-7, it adhered to its call and launched the negotiation of an agreement that does not include a guarantee of security and mutual assistance in the face of foreign aggression, such as that provided for in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. , but the commitment to hold, “in the event of a future Russian armed attack” (it says nothing about the invasion initiated by Moscow in February 2022), consultations with Ukraine to determine “the appropriate steps to take.” Furthermore, Spain undertakes to maintain economic sanctions against Russia and collaborate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the prosecution of war crimes.
The fact that Zelensky is traveling abroad is interpreted by experts as a way to demonstrate that, although the Russian advance in northern and eastern Ukraine has not been stopped, it is under control. The Ukrainian president was already in Spain in October 2023, but then it was not a bilateral visit, but rather he participated in the summit that the European Political Community (EPC) held in Granada on the occasion of the Spanish presidency of the EU.
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