President meets with Zelensky in Kyiv to convey Catalonia's 'solidarity' with the Ukrainian people

Catalan president Salvador Illa met with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Kyiv on Thursday.

During the meeting, Illa conveyed Catalonia's "commitment and solidarity" with the "resilience" of the people of Ukraine and stressed that the Catalan government "has been by the side" of the Ukrainian people since the beginning of the conflict.

Illa also pointed out that his trip to Ukraine "is a sign of the will to reaffirm and strengthen this support" for the besieged eastern European nation.

The mayor of Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni, and the minister for foreign action, Jaume Duch, also attended the meeting.

Government sources explained that Illa highlighted Catalonia's contribution, citing the humanitarian aid that has been sent from Catalonia over the past four and a half years and the cooperation in the healthcare sector, in addition to new collaboration agreements that were signed this Thursday with the regions of Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv.

Illa also defended European democratic values ​​and expressed his support for Ukraine's integration into the European Union and the use of frozen Russian assets to continue financing aid to the country.

The Socialist head also invited Zelenski to visit Barcelona and Catalonia.

Visit to Ukraine

President Salvador Illa arrived in Kyiv earlier on Thursday, saying that Ukraine's future is "the future of Europe and Catalonia" and arguing that Ukrainians are defending all Europeans through their resistance to Russia's invasion.

"Ukrainians are not only defending themselves, through their resilience and titanic effort, but all Europeans," Illa said on his arrival in the Ukrainian capital.

Illa has signed cooperation agreements with the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv aimed at strengthening Catalonia's support for their humanitarian, economic and social needs arising from the war.

The Catalan president also reiterated his support for Ukraine joining the European Union "as soon as possible" and said he favoured using Russian assets to help finance the country's reconstruction.

"We call for the attacks on civilians that we have been seeing in recent days to stop," he added.

The Catalan government said the agreements would establish a stable framework for cooperation with the three Ukrainian regions, with a focus on humanitarian support, economic recovery and reconstruction.

During his visit, Illa is also due to meet representatives of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine and the European Union's ambassador to the country, as well as Ukrainian political and social activists.

He will also attend an event in support of Sister Lucía Caram and her humanitarian cooperation work.

Illa is the first head of a Spanish autonomous community to visit Ukraine on an official trip since Russia's full-scale invasion began.

Barcelona-Kyiv partnership

Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni, meanwhile, has renewed the Catalan capital's cooperation agreement with Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, extending a partnership between the two cities that began in 2022.

Collboni also handed over fire engines and equipment sent from Barcelona in the latest aid convoy.

The renewed agreement covers areas including energy resilience, accessibility, urban development, education, healthcare, culture, transport and public safety.