The key facts
- Zelensky arrived in Madrid for talks on strengthening Ukraine's air defense and defense production
- Specific agreements with Spain have not yet been disclosed
- Earlier, Zelensky reported a month-long delay in approving missile supplies by the Pentagon
Visit to Madrid
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Madrid on a visit, where he intends to discuss with the Spanish side strengthening Ukraine's air defense and expanding military cooperation. He announced this on his Telegram channel, naming as the first priority 'strengthening Ukraine's air defense, protecting our people, developing defense cooperation and production,' and thanked Spain for the assistance provided. According to him, 'new steps to provide support' are being prepared, but he has not yet disclosed any specific agreements. This is reported by Life.ru.
Topics of the talks
Kyiv expects to discuss further support from Madrid, with particular attention to protecting the airspace. A separate area of the talks will be cooperation in the defense industry, including the development of joint defense production. Thus, the visit concerns not only supplies but also long-term production partnership — however, no signed agreements had been reported at the time of publication.
Context: delay with missiles
Earlier Zelensky complained about a delay in approving missile supplies for Ukraine's air defense by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. According to him, Kyiv has already been waiting a month for permission to transfer ammunition, part of which has been paid for by European allies, while American approval is required even for shipping missiles from European countries' stockpiles. Against this backdrop, the talks with Spain on protecting the airspace take on additional context: Kyiv is seeking support from European partners while the issue of American approvals remains unresolved.
