In brief: President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Spain will provide Ukraine with a new €437 million ($500 million) military aid package, following a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on the sidelines of the 30th Ibero-American Summit in Madrid on Thursday, Nov. 5. Zelensky, attending the summit for the first time, called for clear written security guarantees ahead of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Spain will provide Ukraine with a new €437 million ($500 million) military aid package, following talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on the sidelines of the 30th Ibero-American Summit.
Zelensky, who attended the summit in Madrid for the first time on Thursday, Nov 5, said in a statement that the two leaders discussed the package’s contents and Ukraine’s most urgent defense needs.
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“Every day, Russia is killing our people, and Ukrainians know how painful each loss of life is,” Zelensky said, adding that “Spain has consistently provided us with assistance and support.”
The announcement comes as Kyiv prepares for a trilateral meeting with Russia and the US in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11.
Repeated strikes on infrastructure
During the meeting, Zelensky briefed Sánchez on Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, including energy facilities, logistics and the railway network.
“This year, Russia has damaged more of our locomotives than in all the previous years of this war,” Zelensky said in the statement, adding that Ukraine’s power grid and water supply systems are also under constant attack.
According to Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Sept. 15, Russia has damaged or destroyed more than 500 Ukrainian locomotives since the beginning of the full-scale war in February 2022.
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Ukraine’s railway network has become one of the country’s last remaining lifelines for both vital cargo and passenger travel, as its airspace remains closed to civilian flights.
The new package adds to Spain’s earlier commitment. In March, Madrid announced €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in military aid as well, bringing its total support for Ukraine at the time to €4 billion ($4.6 billion).
On Wednesday, Nov. 4, the government approved monthly bonuses of Hr. 30,000 ($670) for energy, utility and railway personnel restoring infrastructure damaged in Russian strikes, particularly because workers face persistent threats of “double-tap” attacks.
First appearance at the Ibero-American Summit
Zelensky arrived in Madrid on Wednesday, as a guest of a two-day gathering of 22 Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries.
According to sources at La Moncloa, the Spanish prime minister’s office, Sánchez personally invited him, and his attendance was not announced in advance for security reasons.
Speaking during an interview for the United News telethon, Zelensky confirmed it was the first time Ukraine had been represented at the summit, describing it as an opportunity to engage with countries geographically distant from the war – particularly Latin America and Africa.
“We need the diplomatic support of these countries,” Zelensky said, noting that backing from Latin America at the UN General Assembly, where relevant issues are frequently raised, has been growing.
Broad support, he added, will also help shape the terms of any future settlement. “We will need the support of all continents, because it will also depend on how just a peace Ukraine receives,” Zelensky continued.
Security guarantees remain central
Zelensky also said that representatives of the EU, NATO and the US had all taken part in Nov. 4-5 discussions in Brussels on security guarantees for Ukraine.
“It’s crucial that everything is clearly defined in writing, so that there is a clear understanding of the outcome,” Zelensky noted, explaining that Ukrainians need to know who would act, how and when if Russia were to attack again.
The discussions were held as preparation for the upcoming trilateral talks between Kyiv, Washington and Moscow in Abu Dhabi – the first such meeting since February.
Zelensky has previously said it expects US security commitments modeled on NATO’s Article 5, with any American guarantees backed by a vote in Congress.
He pointed to Ukraine’s experience under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, under which Kyiv surrendered the nuclear weapons inherited from the Soviet Union in exchange for security assurances from Russia, the US and Britain.
However, Moscow subsequently violated those commitments by occupying Crimea in 2014 and launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Push for US aid
Turning to Washington, Zelensky said Ukraine must build relations with what he called a new political infrastructure in the US and consolidate its bipartisan support.
The remarks came as voting in the midterm elections concluded.
“Currently, we may have increased chances of receiving additional assistance from the United States,” he said, adding that Kyiv would work toward securing a new US aid package and raise the issue of $16 billion that have reportedly been agreed upon but never delivered.
“We are grateful for everything that has been given, but at the very least, Ukraine must fight for these funds,” he said.
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