The United States has thanked on Wednesday the assistance provided by Spain to Ukraine, after the government announced the shipment of ‘Leopard’ battle tanks, expressing its desire to continue working together.
The spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, John Kirby, has stated that «Spain, obviously, has been one of the countries that has contributed and supported Ukraine. That’s something that the president always welcomes.»
«We look forward to continuing to work closely with Spain in the future,» he added, after noting that U.S. talks with its European allies and partners have been very intense for another week.
The Spanish Executive announced Wednesday that it will join the dispatch of ‘Leopard’ battle tanks to Ukraine based on the need for «unity» of all NATO and European Union countries in the response to Russia’s military offensive.
«We will of course be with our NATO and EU partners because unity is what gives strength to the response,» assured the Minister of the Presidency, Felix Bolaños, in statements to the media in Congress.
As he insisted, the operation is being forged in «coordination» with all the allied countries and has avoided giving details about the number of units that could be sent from Spain, which model or the possibility of training Ukrainian troops in their handling.
Spain’s announcement has been added to the decision of Germany and the United States, which have agreed in the last hours to send German-made battle tanks to Ukraine, after eleven months have passed since the beginning of the war, which started on February 24, 2022, by order of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
Following these measures, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksei Reznikov has ordered Western fighter jets, as he considers them to be the next item on his «wish list.»
The defense minister has acknowledged that Kiev’s top priority goes through air defense systems. «We need to close our sky, defend our sky (…) That is the number one priority. After that, we need to get more armed vehicles, tanks, artillery systems, drones, and so on,» he said.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
