Spain will only send 'defensive and humanitarian material' to Ukraine, and not weapons

The Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, has confirmed today that Spain will be sending “defensive and humanitarian” material to Ukraine but will not send 'lethal material' (weapons) as some other countries have agreed to do.

She explained that 20,000 kilos of supplies were flown from Spain to Poland on Sunday and were transferred the same day to the border with Ukraine, where they were collected. These included masks, gloves and medical protection suits, and also defence and personal protection material supplied by the Army, such as helmets, bulletproof vests and NBC protection.

In a TV interview, Robles stressed that any deployment of Spanish troops in NATO countries bordering Russia would only be for dissuasive purposes and never as part of an attack operation, as is currently the case in Latvia and Bulgaria, where about 500 troops are deployed. This is seen as a move to appease the PSOE’s governing partner Podemos, which is against military action.

Regarding statements made by leaders of Unidas Podemos which criticised the role of NATO in the region and its influence on the Ukraine crisis, Robles described these as stemming from a lack of knowledge of the situation. “The only one attacking is Vladimir Putin, who is violating international law,” she said.

Yesterday, Podemos co-spokesman Javier Sánchez criticised a European fund for peace being used to finance military interventions.