Ukraine gets €1B in arms and security pact with Spain

Ukraine signed a bilateral security agreement with Spain today during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s first official visit to Madrid.

“Spain has been supporting Ukraine for two years. Unfortunately, Russian aggression continues and we have to increase our support,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said at a joint news conference with Zelenskyy.

Spain pledged a package of more than €1 billion in military aid for this year and promised to give €5 billion until 2027, Zelenskyy said.

He thanked  Spain for providing additional air defense, artillery shells, and armored vehicles. Sánchez said that Spain is already preparing additional Patriot air defense missiles and Leopard tanks, providing no details about the numbers.

Spain has refused to provide complete Patriot batteries to Kyiv but has agreed to send the missiles they fire. Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs at least seven Patriot systems.

“Russia uses more than 3,000 aerial bombs against Ukraine a month,” he said.

Madrid has also increased the number of Ukrainian troops it is training.

Sánchez said Spain will also help Ukraine with demining, recovery, and financial support.

The security pact with Spain is the 10th such agreement the Ukraine has struck with its allies — part of an effort to lock in long-term support while it waits to be admitted to NATO. The deals do not include sending troops to protect Ukraine or shooting down missiles over Ukraine.