Zelensky awards Margarita Robles “for the support and commitment” of the Government with Ukraine

Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, received Defense Minister Margarita Robles this Wednesday at the presidential palace in Kyiv, where they held a meeting on military cooperation between both countries and discussed the war situation in the country. In a message in English, Ukrainian, and Spanish disseminated on social media, the Ukrainian leader assured that he had informed Robles “about the situation on the front” of the war with Russian forces, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

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At the meeting, both also discussed the expansion of the SAFE program, the English acronym for the financial instrument Security Action for Europe, which the EU allocates to investment in industrial defense production. “We are confident in the expansion of the SAFE program and the emergence of new products from our joint production,” said the Ukrainian leader.

The President of Ukraine also thanked for the support of Ukraine’s missile defense with Hawk and Patriot missiles, weaponry he described as “scarce”: “That is why Spain’s help is very important for our defense against massive Russian attacks.” Zelenskyy extended his gratitude to Robles, as well as to Pedro Sánchez and “to all of Spain for their support throughout all these years.”

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The meeting takes place on the same day that the EU begins unblocking 90 billion euros in loans for Ukraine, a measure previously vetoed by Hungary with its president, Viktor Orbán, at the helm, but whose party lost the legislative elections on April 13. At the same meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels, the twentieth package of sanctions against Russia was provisionally approved, which had been stalled since February by both Hungary and Slovakia, and is also expected to be unblocked throughout this Wednesday.

After the meeting, Zelenskyy decorated the minister with the Order of Princess Olga —one of the most important distinctions awarded by Ukraine and granted exclusively to women— in its III degree “in recognition of the Spanish Government’s support for Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion and its commitment to the defense of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” according to the Ministry of Defense on its website. “A commitment that is beyond doubt,” assured the Minister of Defense, as stated in the same communiqué. “Despite the fact that the focus has now shifted to the Middle East. Spain will continue to help Ukraine because Spain is a supportive country that defends values, rights, and a just cause.”

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