KIEV (dpa-AFX) – Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promised Ukraine 55 million euros in new aid during his visit to Kiev. “Spain will allocate another 55 million euros to support the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine,” he said on Saturday during his speech to the parliament in Kiev, the Verkhovna Rada. At the same time, the socialist politician assured that the Europeans’ support for Ukraine in their defense against the Russian war of aggression was unbroken. Spain took over the scheduled presidency of the EU Council on Saturday.
According to him, the EU will help Ukraine “for as long as necessary” and “regardless of the price to be paid”. In his speech, Sánchez recalled that the European Union is a peace project created after World War II to prevent new wars. Europe is open to those who aspire there, he also supports Kiev’s accession ambitions.
The Spaniard had arrived in Kiev in the morning. With the visit, he also wanted to set an example for Spain’s EU Council Presidency, said the native of Madrid. The speech in Parliament was not broadcast live for security reasons. In the past few months, Russia has repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian capital with drones and rockets – sometimes when foreign guests were in Kiev./bal/DP/he