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UKRAINE

Spain sends generators to Ukraine as temperatures plummet

The Spanish government has announced it has sent 14 new electric generators to war-torn Ukraine, where Russian attacks on energy infrastructure have left many without power or warm water as winter fast approaches.

generators spain ukraine
People walk next to the Motherland Monument at the WWII open-air museum in Kyiv during first snow fall on November 17, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP)

On Friday “we dispatched a new package of 14 generators in view of what is proving to be a very harsh and difficult winter in Ukraine”, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said.

Kyiv on Friday appealed to European allies for support, saying nearly half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure had been disabled and needed repair.

Madrid last month said it had sent five generators.

Temperatures have plunged across Ukraine in recent days, with the first snow falling on Thursday.

“Due to a dramatic drop in temperature, electricity consumption is increasing daily in those regions of Ukraine where power supply has already been restored after massive missile strikes on November 15th on the energy infrastructure,” said Ukrenergo, an electricity transmission system operator in Ukraine and the sole operator of the country’s high-voltage transmission lines.

Albares said Spain would also dispatch 30 ambulances as well as police reinforcements to help Ukraine investigate possible war crimes on its territory.

Both the European Commission and the European Parliament have warned that the humanitarian situation in Ukraine is the “worst” since the war broke out in February and insisted on the need to provide aid to the country so that it can face the winter.

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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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