Spain announces shipment of air and naval defense equipment to Ukraine
Spain will send “in the near future” new donations of material to Ukraine aimed at reinforcing anti-aircraft defense and naval protection.The latter was key to securing the green sea route that allowed the exit of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.
The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, will give an account to the allied countries of this new shipment, which is also aimed at reinforcing the Ukrainian Armed Forces in areas such as the mobility, armor and protection of ground forces.during the meeting of the Contact Group for the defense of Ukraine, which will take place this Friday, reported Defense.
With this donation of material, Spain responds to the priority needs expressed by the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Oleksii Reznikov, during his meeting with Robles last week in Madrid, in which he asked for naval aid, especially against minesand more ammunition for artillery.
In addition, he insisted on the priority of anti-aircraft defense and, expressed interest in fighter planes, the F-16, which Spain does not have.
Robles will travel that Friday to the German military base to participate in the eleventh meeting at ministerial level of the so-called Ramstein Groupconvened by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin. She will be accompanied by the Secretary General for Defense Policy, Admiral Juan Francisco Martínez Núñez.
During the meeting, the minister will confirm the continuity of the Spanish support, will reiterate the humanitarian and medical assistance measures that the Ministry of Defense continues to offer and will announce the dispatch “in the near future” of new donations of material.
The Contact Group, led by the US Secretary of Defense, has been meeting since April last year and has the usual participation of more than 40 countries.
This forum allows Ukraine to express its support needs and serve as a reference for donor countries to coordinate their contributions or launch joint assistance initiatives.
An example of this is the agreement reached last March by European Union countries for the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine.
