The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced yesterday before the Congress that Spain “will deliver to the Ukrainian resistance offensive military material”. The measure, which he justified by the need to maintain “unity” in the face of parliamentary groups that “question” his commitment in this crisis, was rejected by Unidas Podemos, the PSOE’s ally in the government coalition -with the exception of Vice President Yolanda Díaz-, and applauded by the PP, which has celebrated his “rectification” and offered him its support.
“Europe is the embodiment of multilateralism, democracy and the Welfare State. This is what (Russian President Vladimir) Putin fears: the strengthening of a geopolitical power, the European Union, at the gates of its borders,” said Sánchez during his appearance, which was attended from the guest gallery by the Minister Counselor and Chargé d’Affaires of the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid, Dmytro Matiuschenko.
“Putin fears Europe because he fears democracy, that is why he attacks, because it is a power that represents a model radically opposed to his authoritarianism,” he continued. “What is at stake is the strength of the EU, of our values and principles, our way of understanding and living in the world,” he warned. “Throughout his years of presidency, Putin has tried to divide Europe in every possible way, with fake news with cyber-attacks, with espionage, approaching political actors in our country,” he denounced, in veiled allusion to Catalan independence. “Spain is a peace-loving state,” he said. “We are outraged that a country lies to its citizens and tramples international legality. Today the ‘No to the Iraq war’ is the ‘No to Putin’s war’. We will not give him what he wants: the division of Europe. We will continue to cement unity,” he said.
“Spain has always understood that this attack is on Europe. To its principles and values. That is why we have always defended coordinated actions at the European level, not a sum of initiatives from each country,” Pedro Sánchez said. “That is why we support the activation of the European Peace Fund for the delivery of defensive and offensive weaponry by the EU to Ukraine. I would like to remind that Spain is the fourth largest donor to this Fund”, with 450 million euros.
“But as I see that there are groups that question the commitment of the Government of Spain, and for me and for the Government it is so important, so fundamental, the unity of all, I announce that Spain will deliver to the Ukrainian resistance offensive military material and, finally, I announce that Spain will promote in the EU and in the OECD the declaration of Russia as a tax haven, including that country in the black list of tax havens”, he declared. To date, Pedro Sánchez had resisted sending arms to Ukraine, unlike many other European partners, arguing that Spain was already contributing to the European Peace Fund.
On the other hand, he assured, “Spain is not going to send troops to Ukraine” and neither is NATO, “but we are contributing to the reinforcement” of the eastern flank by sending 150 soldiers to Latvia to join the 350 troops already deployed. Sánchez also admitted that the sanctions against Russia will have an impact on the European and Spanish economies. For this reason, he announced, “we are already working on a National Plan of Response to the Impact of the War with measures in the labor, energy and protection of the vulnerable and sectors affected by the sanctions against the Russian Government”.
Podemos and PP
The announcement of the shipment of weapons to Ukraine revealed differences not only within the coalition, but even within Unidas Podemos, since, on the one hand, the second vice-president and leader of the confederal space of this formation in the Executive, Yolanda Díaz, assured the press yesterday in the corridors of the Congress that “the President of the Government has all our support” and that “all” the ministers had been informed of this decision on Tuesday night, while the Secretary General of Podemos and Minister of Social Rights, Ione Belarra, declared that sending arms to Ukraine “is not the most effective measure to resolve the conflict as soon as possible”.
The parliamentary spokesman of Unidas Podemos, Pablo Echenique, also stated from the rostrum of the Congress, “out of loyalty” to the President of the Government, that his decision to modify his initial position had been a “mistake” because sending arms to the civilian population is not an effective measure against the war and the solution must come from diplomacy. “In this he is wrong”, stated Sánchez in his turn of reply, expressly addressing Unidas Podemos. “The Ukrainians are fighting unequally against an aggressor power,” he continued. “I believe and defend the ‘no to war’, but not only that of Iraq, also that of Putin”, he added.
For her part, the spokeswoman of the Popular Group in Congress, Cuca Gamarra – and general coordinator of the PP until the extraordinary congress in April – celebrated the “rectification” of the Government, whose commitment to Ukraine has been “the lowest of all the major EU countries”. “We are the fourth power of the euro and instead of sending military material to repel an invasion, so far the only thing it has sent is gloves and hydroalcoholic gel,” she lamented. “Don’t be afraid to behave with dignity in this war, and if your coalition allies fail you, don’t worry, we will walk this road together”, because the support of the PP is “firmer and more reliable” than “the opposition to NATO and the hesitations to the defense of Ukraine that are manifested” by your allies, she added.
Grenade launchers and cartridges
Last night, in statements to Antena 3, the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, said that tomorrow, Friday, Spain will send two planes with offensive material in which a total of 1,370 anti-tank grenade launchers and 700,000 rifle and machine gun cartridges are expected to go.
The material will be transported in air force planes to Poland, at a point near the Ukrainian border, and will be collected by the Ukrainian authorities,” Robles explained. The minister added that this first shipment is “important” because it will allow “a very individualised defence” that can be used by “people who do not have a great deal of experience in the use of weapons”
