The Diplomat
European Union foreign ministers yesterday took an unprecedented decision in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: to fund 450 million euros to send lethal weapons and ammunition to Volodomir Zelenski’s government for its defence.
This assistance to the Ukrainian population to defend itself against the Russian-led invasion will be in addition to another 50 million for non-lethal material such as fuel or medical supplies.
In addition, the virtual meeting of the EU-27 confirmed the proposal announced last night by European Commission President Urusula Von der Leyen to exclude “certain Russian banks” from the Swift financial communications system and to prohibit the Russian Central Bank from accessing their reserves deposited in European banks.
These measures still need to go through the formal procedure to be legally adopted, but EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell said yesterday that it will happen soon and will “greatly affect” Russia’s economic system.
“More than half of the Russian Central Bank’s reserves will be frozen”, he said, noting that the measure will come into force on Monday before financial markets open.
The European ministers also agreed on the coordinated closure of European airspace to Russian airlines and private aircraft. Von der Leyen explained that the aim is that no aircraft owned by a Russian natural or legal person can “fly over, land or take off” in European Union territory, a veto that will apply to “the private jets of oligarchs”.
A total of 18 European countries, including Spain, Germany, Italy and France, had already closed their airspace to Russian aircraft last night, joining the measure adopted by the UK a few days earlier.
The Commission President also announced another “unprecedented step” to veto “the Kremlin’s media machine” by banning Russia Today television and the Sputnik news agency and its subsidiaries, which the EU holds responsible for contributing to disinformation by spreading “lies to justify Putin’s war”.
“We are developing tools to ban their toxic and damaging disinformation for Europe”, said Von der Leyen, who confirmed that further sanctions against the Belarusian Lukashenko regime for its aid to Moscow are in the pipeline.
Evacuation of Spaniards
In Spain, the Foreign Ministry recommended postponing all non-essential travel to Russia and asked Spaniards living there to remain alert to developments in the country following Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine.
The Spanish government chartered a plane to Krakow to bring to Spain all the Spaniards who were evacuated from Ukraine in two convoys organised by the Spanish Embassy in Kiev and escorted by the GEO and who managed to cross the Ukrainian border yesterday morning.
The plane, in which 106 people were travelling, arrived early this morning at Barajas airport, where it was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares.
The ambassador in Kiev, Silvia Cortés, together with the consul and the GEO team sent for the security tasks that were travelling in the second convoy, will remain in Poland to continue providing the necessary attention to the Spaniards who are still in the area.
Meanwhile, two Air Force A400M aircraft flew yesterday to an airport near the border between Poland and Ukraine, carrying 20 tonnes of humanitarian aid, as well as means of protection for the civilian population (bulletproof helmets, waistcoats and material against bacteriological and nuclear warfare), which will then have to be transported by land to Ukraine.
The Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, announced that the government is preparing a total of 100 beds in Spanish hospitals, 75 in the Gómez Ulla Hospital in Madrid and 25 in Zaragoza, to respond in the event that it is necessary to treat people injured in Ukraine in the context of the conflict.
Yesterday, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in different parts of Madrid, called by groups in support of Ukraine, to demand an end to the war. The demonstrators gathered with Ukrainian flags and banners that read: “Peace”, “Stop Putin” and “Enough! There were also chants and proclamations of “Putin murderer”, “Putin out of Ukraine”, “Freedom”, “Free Ukraine” and “Europe, Spain help Ukraine”.
In Barcelona, during the inaugural dinner of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), attended by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, the President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, and the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, His Majesty the King denounced the “unacceptable aggression” of the Russian army against Ukraine, to which he expressed his solidarity, while calling for respect for international law to restore peace as soon as possible.
Pedro Sánchez, for his part, defended the measures adopted by the EU in the face of Putin’s “barbarity”, stressed that Europe is responding to the situation in Ukraine with “unity and determination” and said that the Russian president represents a threat to Europe’s security.
The President of the Government spoke by telephone yesterday with Zelenski, to whom he conveyed Spain’s support and solidarity in the face of Putin’s “intolerable” invasion of Ukraine.
