By Victoria Waldersee and Aislinn Laing
MADRID (Reuters) -Spain promised to roll out an unspecified “substantial” aid package for Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Madrid on Tuesday and met Spanish defence sector executives,aiming to bolster Kyiv’s air defences against Russia’s invasion.
Zelenskiy, who was due to meet Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez later on Tuesday, visited the headquarters of radar and anti-drone specialist Indra, which is part-owned by the Spanish state, along with other defence firms and Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles.
The Ukrainian leader’s European trip comes amid a surge of Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks.
ZELENSKIY SEEKING AIR DEFENCE SYSTEMS
“Advanced radars, drone technologies, essential equipment – all of this means better protection of lives,” Zelenskiy said in posts on social media platform X while meeting the defence executives.
“Ukraine needs to bolster air defence – additional systems and missiles for them,” he posted after meeting lawmakers.
He said he expected a “productive visit” that would “result in agreements that will give us greater strength”.
Spanish secretary of state for foreign affairs, Diego Martinez Belio, told a conference Spain would announce a “substantial” aid package during the visit but did not provide further details.
Spain has come under fire from NATO allies for rejecting calls by U.S. President Donald Trump for European members to increase their defence spending to 5% of their gross domestic product, though it has been vocal in its support for Ukraine and is participating in new NATO eastern flank defence missions.
TRIP TO TURKEY UP NEXT
Spain in February said it would provide Ukraine with a new military aid package worth 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) this year as part of a 10-year bilateral security and defence agreement signed in May 2024. It has previously supplied Ukraine with Leopard tanks, Patriot missiles, anti-tank systems, and artillery ammunition.
Zelenskiy will have lunch with King Felipe before meeting Sanchez and holding a news conference in late afternoon. He is also expected to raise with Sanchez the issue of potential financing for Ukraine’s energy sector and frozen Russian assets.
Zelenskiy’s visit to Spain follows a trip to Greece and France, where he signed an agreement to buy up to 100 French-made Rafale warplanes over the next 10 years.
He will travel to Turkey on Wednesday where he is expected to coincide with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff for talks about reviving hopes of a potential peace deal with Russia.
($1 = 0.8633 euros)
(Reporting by Asilinn Laing and Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alison Williams)
