The visit to Spain Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikovv, It has not served only to thank his counterpart Margarita Robles the delivery of the first six Leopard 2A4 tanks which will arrive in Ukraine before the end of the month. Nor has it limited itself to recognizing Spain’s contribution to the defense of Ukraine against the Russian invasion with the training of Ukrainian soldiers in Spanish territory, or the assistance provided to soldiers and officers wounded in combat. The press conference that both ministers have staged has revealed a Spain’s political involvement in the war unleashed by Vladimir Putin greater than previously assumed. According to Reznikov, the prominent role that the Government of Pedro Sanchez played in the constitution of the so-called Leopard coalition it contributed significantly to overcoming German reluctance to grant the necessary permission – as the manufacturer of the tanks – for their delivery to the Ukrainian Army. This is not a minor issue since the Leopards not only mean increasing the fire capacity of the Ukrainian Army, but also constitute the spearhead of the counteroffensive that kyiv it wants to unleash to recover territory in Donbas and, probably, part of the Black Sea and Azov Sea coasts that have been occupied by Russia.
Six tanks – or even ten, if Spain sends the other four promised by Pedro Sánchez during his last visit to Kiev – are nothing compared to the thousands of armored vehicles that staged some of the great land battles of World War II, but the shipment of the first Leopards by various European countries and North American Abrams It represents a substantial change in the war taking into account the offensive nature of these armored vehicles, superior to current Russian tanks. Europe and Canada have more than 2,000 tanks that can be brought to Ukraine, if the Leopard coalition remains united in its support of the Government of Volodimir Zelensky. The same sense of counteroffensive has the other requests that Reznikov raised to Spain, from Eurofighter planes to advanced weapons that allow combat the Russian presence in the Black Sea.
The transition from a defensive war to an offensive one, aimed at recovering Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow raises questions that the government should answer in parliament. What is the nature of the counteroffensive that kyiv has planned and for which it needs, among others, the Leopard? Is it about recovering the territory of Donbas or going further, introducing Crimea into the equation? How is this legitimate counteroffensive combined with the necessary search for an agreement that puts an end to Russian aggression and that is acceptable to both parties? If the tanks are good for that, and to prevent more death and destruction at the hands of Wagner’s militias, welcome. Under these conditions, it is probable that Spanish public opinion will support sending it to Ukraine, even if it means greater Spanish involvement in the conflict. However, if the greater effort that the Kiev government asks of Spain and other European countries is not part of the perspective of an end to the conflict, European societies may not support an endless conflict.