The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, warned Thursday that neither the sending of explosive letters nor any other violent activity will change Spain’s «firm and clear» commitment to support Ukraine in its defense against the Russian military offensive.
Robles has traveled this Thursday to the Ukrainian city of Odessa, coinciding with the sending of letters with explosive devices in Spain to the Moncloa Palace, the Ukrainian and U.S. embassies in Madrid, the military company Instalaza, the Torrejón de Ardoz air base and the Ministry of Defense.
In an appearance together with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, Robles has summoned the police investigation which is underway to clarify the authorship of the shipments.
«But what must be very clear is that none of these shipments or any other violent action will change the clear and firm commitment of Spain, NATO countries and the European Union to support Ukraine, because Ukraine is defending a just cause,» he remarked.
Robles arrived in Odessa by road from Chisinau (Moldova) and at the border she was received by the Spanish ambassador to Ukraine, Ricardo López-Aranda Jagu, and by a representative of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
From there, the delegation continued its journey by caravan to Odessa, where, upon arrival, the Minister visited the monument dedicated to the Spanish José de Ribas, founder of this city. Later, she held a working meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart.
In her appearance before the media, Robles reaffirmed Spain’s commitment to Ukraine. «Ukraine is not only defending its sovereignty and its international integrity, but it is also defending peace in the world and the community of democratic values», she thanked her Minister of Defense.
But he also accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of violating «any rule of international law» and expressed the hope that «someday» he could be brought before international criminal courts. «In the meantime, Spain is a serious partner and committed to the policy decided by NATO, which is a policy of unity and total support for Ukraine,» he assured.
NEED FOR ANTI-AIR DEFENSES The Ukrainian Minister of Defense has recognized that Spain was the first country to respond to his request for anti-aircraft defenses to be able to deal with missile attacks. In this sense, Robles has recognized that both Spain and the whole European Union and NATO are aware that this material continues to be a priority for Ukraine, although he has avoided giving details about new shipments for «prudence and discretion».
She also recalled that, in addition to the shipments of military and humanitarian material, Spain is receiving Ukrainian refugees and wounded military personnel and has contributed close to 300 million dollars to the European Peace Fund.
