The Diplomat
Ukraine’s ambassador to Spain, Serhii Pohoreltsev, yesterday called on Spain to supply his country with more weapons “as soon as possible” to confront Russia in a war that he said he was convinced it would win.
Although he thanked the Spanish government for its support, Pohoreltsev regretted that Sánchez’s government is not supplying Ukraine with all the weapons it could. “We cannot say that we are satisfied”, he said, because Spain “is not supplying us with everything could give us”. For this reason, he insisted that his country needs more weapons “as quickly as possible”.
During a press conference held at the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid to commemorate the 31st anniversary of Ukraine’s independence and the six-month Russian invasion, Pohoreltsev pointed out that the last shipment of arms from Spain to Ukraine “took place in May” and regretted that “this dynamic does not suit us”.
The ambassador said that the Ukrainian government has given the Spanish Defence Ministry a list of materials, including howitzers and mortars, which it needs to counter Russian attacks. “I am sure we will get everything that is on the list, but it is not going to be easy. There is understanding, willingness to help each other. We are going to make it,” he added, hoping that Spain would “soon” be able to help him with more weapons.
However, he left open the possibility of obtaining them from other countries. “We are working to obtain more weapons according to the list of needs of our armed forces,” he said. “Ideally, we would like to get free military aid, but we are also looking at the possibility of buying (weapons) in other countries,” he said, without “being able to give more details” until “this material is already in Ukraine”.
The ambassador reported that 12 million Ukrainians have been displaced by the war, five million of whom have left the country. Of these, he put the number of those who have arrived in Spain at 130,000, for which he expressed his gratitude for the “warm welcome” received by his compatriots.
In addition, he said that so far 6,896 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, of whom 362 are children. However, he said “this figure will grow” because “we do not have data from all the territories temporarily occupied and we continue to find dead people”.
