President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has cancelled his visit to Spain and Portugal scheduled for 17 May. This information was confirmed to LB.ua by the President's Office. The cancellation of Friday's visit was first reported by journalists from the Spanish EFE and the Portuguese edition of CNN.
During the trip, Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with Spanish King Felipe IV and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and sign a security agreement. Journalists' diplomatic sources noted that the cancellation of the trip was due to the difficult situation Ukraine is experiencing.
The government has not officially announced the visit, although on Monday, sources in the executive branch admitted that it was being prepared and that a bilateral security agreement was to be signed during the visit.
The Spanish royal palace announced yesterday at around 14:00 that they were preparing for the Ukrainian president's visit. However, two hours later, at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry's headquarters in Madrid, Minister José Manuel Albares refused to confirm Zelenskyy's visit.
The cancellation of the Ukrainian president's visit was also reported by CNN sources.