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UKRAINE

Spain sends 200 tonnes of military material to Ukraine

Spain has shipped 200 tonnes of military equipment, including heavy transport vehicles and ammunition, to Ukraine, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Thursday during a visit to Kyiv.

Spain sends 200 tonnes of military material to Ukraine
Spain has already sent other weaponry shipments to Ukrainian forces since February. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)

“This is the largest shipment made until now, more than doubling what we have sent so far,” he told a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

A Spanish navy ship loaded with the material departed a port in Spain on Thursday bound for Poland, from where the cargo will be transported to Ukraine, Sánchez said.

“The ship carries 30 trucks, several special heavy transport vehicles, and 10 small vehicles loaded with the military material that will be transferred to Ukraine,” he added.

Sánchez and his Danish counterpart arrived in Kyiv earlier on Thursday for talks with Zelensky, the latest in a series of visits by European leaders to show their support for Ukraine.

“Shocked to witness the horror and atrocities of Putin’s war on the streets of Borodyanka,” Sánchez tweeted earlier on Thursday after visiting the war-ravaged town outside of Kyiv with Frederiksen.

Madrid has sent about a dozen planes to Ukraine carrying “hundreds of tonnes” of weapons and humanitarian supplies, Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Monday.

In another sign of support for Kyiv, Sánchez announced on Monday that Spain would reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital “in a few days’ time”.

The embassy suspended activity the day after the Russian invasion on February 24 for security reasons.

Spain has also taken in 134,000 Ukrainians, of whom 64,000 have received temporary protection, including accommodation and a work permit.

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UKRAINE

Spain against deploying EU troops to Ukraine

Spain on Tuesday said it was against any deployment of European troops in Ukraine after France's Emmanuel Macron refused to rule out sending Western soldiers.

Spain against deploying EU troops to Ukraine

“As to whether we are in favour of deploying European troops to Ukraine, we’ve already made our position clear and we do not agree,” said government spokeswoman Pilar Alegría.

“We must concentrate on the most urgent thing, which is to speed up the delivery of (military) equipment” to Kyiv, she said, saying “unity” was Europe’s “most effective weapon” against Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Macron triggered a shockwave late on Monday by refusing to rule out the dispatch of Western ground troops to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

“There is no consensus today to send ground troops… but nothing should be excluded. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia cannot win this war,” he said.

He refused to say more about France’s position, citing the need for “strategic ambiguity” but saying the issue was mentioned among the options”.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was quoted as saying some EU and NATO members were weighing the option.

“Many people who say ‘never, ever’ today were the same people who said ‘never tanks, never planes, never long-range missiles’ two years ago” when Russia invaded, said Macron. “Let us have the humility to note that we have often been six to twelve months late.”

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also rejected the idea of European or NATO countries sending troops to Ukraine.

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