Spain and Ukraine in talks on expanding military aid to Ukraine

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba came to Spain on an official visit.

Rubryka reports, referring to the post of the foreign minister on Twitter.

The video shows that on August 31, Dmytro Kuleba took a walk with his Spanish colleague José Manuel Albares. 

The Ukrainian foreign minister spoke about the details of the negotiations and said he "applauds" Spain's presidency of the Council of the European Union.

"Opening Ukraine's EU accession talks in 2023 is top priority. Ukraine is making all the necessary steps, and so does the EU," said Kuleba. "We also discussed expanding Spain's much-appreciated military aid to Ukraine."

What we know about Spain's support for Ukraine 

At the beginning of July, the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, visited Kyiv. He announced a new aid package worth €55 million. Spain also sent a new batch of Leopard tanks, ambulances, armored cars, trucks, and various types of ammunition to Ukraine. 

During the first six months of 2022, Spain provided 155-mm artillery projectiles (56% of its total military exports to Ukraine), bombs, up to 20 mm weapons, helmets, armor plating, and 77,000 winter uniforms. According to the data provided by the Ministry of Defense of Spain, by December 2022, Spain had contributed €282 million to the European Peace Facility fund.

The Spanish army trained Ukrainian soldiers in the center based at the Toledo Infantry Academy as part of the EU Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine. Since November 2022, the center has trained 400 Ukrainian soldiers every two months. Ukrainian soldiers also completed a demining course in Spain.