President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Madrid. They signed a bilateral security agreement. The President of Ukraine said this at a press conference in Spain (broadcast by Suspilne). He called it a significant strategic document.
"For this year, we have recorded one billion euros of military assistance," the president said.
Under the agreement, Spain pledged to provide 5 billion in aid through the European Peace Fund by 2027.
Spain has also expressed interest in jointly producing weapons and will provide additional shells and armoured vehicles.
The Spanish prime minister said that Spain would participate in the Berlin summit on Ukraine's recovery. He added that defence, peace and reconstruction are common priorities for his country and Ukraine.
"You can count on Spain to fight for peace based on the values of the UN Charter," he said.
Sánchez expressed hope that Ukraine would become a member of the European Union in the near future.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for his part, thanked Spain for its help and indifference when Russian missiles and artillery began destroying Ukrainian settlements and killing children.
"Every month, the Russian army uses more than 3,000 guided bombs alone. This Saturday, two Russian bombs burned to the ground one of the largest shopping centres in our city of Kharkiv. A completely civilian facility. Saturday, daytime, two bombs," the president said.
Zelenskyy and Sanchez discussed further strengthening Ukraine's air defence.
"Putin talks a lot about negotiations. But different nations have dealt with similar dictators before. They are not lying only when they are silent. We need to look at the real actions of dictators," he said.
Spain has become the tenth country to sign a security agreement with Ukraine.
Security guarantees: what Ukraine wants
In July 2023, at a joint press conference with the NATO Secretary General, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needs security guarantees before it becomes a member of the Alliance. These guarantees should not be "instead of NATO", but on the way to it, he stressed. The President said that the state currently has no real legal security guarantees from its partners, so this may become the first legal document. And then Ukraine can receive separate guarantees with individual guarantor countries. These documents will specify the things that Ukraine lacks, such as air defence and aviation, and the signatories to the guarantees will work to fill these needs. The document is open to not only G7 members but also other countries, although it is initially aimed at the G7.
In July, the Group of 7 countries signed a declaration on long-term security guarantees and economic support for Ukraine. The signatories will promote reforms necessary for Ukraine's membership in NATO. The next step is to conclude bilateral security agreements between Ukraine and individual guarantor countries.
The first country with which Ukraine signed a security agreement was its powerful ally, the United Kingdom.