Spain pledges €817m for Ukraine's defense and reconstruction

Spain will allocate €817 million to support Ukraine's defense and reconstruction in the face of Russia's ongoing invasion, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Madrid on Tuesday.

Of the total, €615 million will go toward the purchase of military equipment. This includes €300 million in shipments, €215 million via the European Commission's SAFE tool, and €100 million for US-made weaponry through NATO's Priority Ukrainian Requirements List (PURL) initiative.

Spain will also set up a €200 million fund to support Ukraine's reconstruction.

The €100 million contribution forms part of a €500 million NATO-coordinated purchase of US military equipment aimed at meeting Ukraine's most urgent needs, such as air defense systems to counter Russian missile and drone strikes on critical infrastructure.

After meeting the Ukrainian president, Sánchez expressed Spain's "full and unwavering" support.

"We do this out of solidarity, coherence, and responsibility," he said. "The war Ukraine is fighting against Putin's neo-imperialism tests the European project and all it stands for."

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit

The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited Spain on Tuesday on his third official trip to the country.

In the morning, the politician was greeted in Congress by the House Speaker, Francina Armengol, and the Senate Speaker, Pedro Rollán.

During the day, he met with military-focused companies to seek additional support and had lunch with Spain's King Felipe VI. In the afternoon, he visited the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid with Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez to view Picasso's Guernica, a symbol of the horrors of war.

While visiting the Spanish Congress, Zelenskyy wrote in the book of honors that he is "deeply thankful to His Royal Highness the King, the government, and Spain's inhabitants for their decisive support and important aid to battle the Russian invasion."

"We, Ukrainians, truly value solidarity and friendship that unite our societies and our shared European future," he added.

This is the third time the Ukrainian leader has visited Spain and is part of a European tour, which included a meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron on Monday in Paris, and a prior trip to Greece.

Back in February, the Spanish PM visited Kyiv to meet with Zelenskyy, amid a tense relationship between the Ukrainian and US President Donald Trump.

In May 2024, during the last visit to Spain, Sánchez pledged €1 billion in military aid to Ukraine.