Introduction
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s official visit to Spain, scheduled for Tuesday the 18th, comes at a pivotal moment in both the war and Europe’s policy towards Ukraine. It will be the third time the Ukrainian leader has travelled to Madrid since the outset of the Russian invasion, with an agenda that includes a meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, an address to the Congress of Deputies, and symbolic gestures of significant political weight. For the Spanish Government, the visit offers an opportunity to reaffirm a commitment that is no longer measured solely in statements, but in military aid packages, security agreements, and participation in reconstruction efforts. For Zelensky, it is about ensuring that Spain—and, by extension, the EU—maintains a long-term course of support at a time when some allies are showing signs of fatigue. This analysis examines the visit across three dimensions: the current state of the war, the record of Spanish and European support, and Spain’s projection as a reliable partner within the Euro-Atlantic framework.
A Long and Costly War: Ukraine Seeks Guarantees Amid Growing Fatigue
On the eve of the trip to Madrid, the war is nearing its fourth year with a stabilised front that remains extraordinarily costly in both lives and resources. While Russia maintains military pressure and strikes on critical infrastructure, Ukraine has shifted from ambitious counteroffensives to a strategy of prolonged resistance—where the key objective is not necessarily the immediate recovery of territory, but preventing Moscow from imposing “strategic fatigue” on Western capitals.
Recent data from research centres indicate that the volume of foreign military assistance recorded in the summer of 2025 has declined compared to the peaks of 2022–2023. Added to this is uncertainty regarding the future role of the United States, where internal debates persist over the political and financial cost of supporting Kyiv. In this context, Zelensky has intensified his European tour to secure long-term commitments, sign security agreements, and keep Ukraine at the forefront of the diplomatic agenda. Spain is among the partners the Ukrainian president seeks to reinforce: not one of the largest donors, but a relevant EU and NATO member, with political weight on the southern flank and a distinct voice in discussions on the use of frozen Russian assets or the architecture of European security.
Spanish Support: From Initial Solidarity to a Structured Security Commitment
Since 2022, Spain has moved from a response marked by solidarity and emergency assistance to a more structured support framework. The Government has supplied arms, ammunition, Leopard 2A4 tanks, air-defence systems, participated in the training of Ukrainian soldiers, and provided humanitarian aid and refugee reception programmes.
A qualitative shift came with the signing of the Bilateral Security and Defence Agreement in 2024 and Prime Minister Sánchez’s announcement in Kyiv in February 2025 of a new military assistance package worth €1 billion for that year. This commitment, which adds to more than €1 billion already granted in previous years, establishes a ten-year roadmap covering defence, training, industrial cooperation, and support for a just peace based on international law. In parallel, Spain has provided over €110 million in humanitarian assistance, donated electric generators, and supported programmes for the reception and protection of people displaced by the war.
With these steps, Madrid aligns itself with the broader framework of security commitments that Ukraine has been signing with its partners since 2024 and which, by November 2025, number several dozen long-term bilateral agreements. Zelensky’s visit will serve to publicly update that commitment and to demonstrate that Spain does not belong to the group of allies that “do the bare minimum”, but to those that have given predictability to their support.
The European Dimension: From Emergency Aid to Long-Term Commitments
Spain’s policy towards Ukraine is embedded in a wider European architecture. Since 2024, the EU and Ukraine have concluded joint security commitments that include predictable and sustainable support for Ukraine’s defence, the reinforcement of Common Security and Defence Policy missions, and deeper integration of Ukraine’s defence industry into the European ecosystem.
Moreover, the EU has launched the “Ukraine Facility”, a package of up to €50 billion combining loans and grants to sustain Ukraine’s budget, finance reforms, strengthen resilience, and support reconstruction. Within this framework, the European Investment Bank and the European Commission have approved new financing programmes for infrastructure and economic recovery projects. Zelensky’s visit to Madrid therefore comes at a time when the EU is seeking to move from emergency instruments to a long-term stabilisation logic: ensuring that Ukraine can continue defending its territory without the economic burden becoming politically unsustainable for Member States.
Spain, which hosted the Ukraine Recovery Conference in 2025, has announced the opening of the Office for the Reconstruction of Ukraine in Madrid, designed to coordinate financial instruments and facilitate the involvement of Spanish private-sector companies in on-the-ground projects. This reinforces the idea that the relationship is no longer limited to the military dimension, but is increasingly oriented toward the country’s modernisation and its future European integration.
Spain’s Agenda: International Standing, EU Positioning and Economic Opportunities
For Spain, Zelensky’s visit also carries its own foreign-policy significance. Symbolically, the meeting with the Ukrainian president and his expected address to the Congress strengthen Spain’s image as a partner committed to upholding the rules-based international order, in line with its membership of the EU and NATO. At a time when some allies have been criticised for insufficient effort, Madrid seeks to place itself among the group of countries visibly supporting a “just peace” that excludes territorial concessions to Russia.
At the European level, the visit allows Spain to speak out on key debates: from the use of proceeds generated by frozen Russian assets to finance aid to Ukraine, to the coordination of European defence policy and Kyiv’s role in the future security architecture of the continent. And economically, it opens a window of opportunity for Spanish businesses in sectors such as infrastructure, energy, transport, housing, and services—areas where Ukraine’s reconstruction will require massive investment throughout the coming decade.
The newly announced Reconstruction Office can act as an interface between administrations, financial institutions, and companies, shaping a Spanish presence that combines legitimate economic interest with political commitment to the country’s recovery. The challenge will be ensuring that the symbolic prominence of the visit is not followed by a marginal presence in the reconstruction phase.
Expectations for the Visit: Crossed Messages and Tests of Coherence
Zelensky is expected to bring a two-fold message to Madrid. To the Government and Spanish political parties, a call to maintain—and even increase—military support in areas where Ukraine believes Spain can contribute more: air defence, ammunition, training, and industrial cooperation. To the public, a narrative linking Ukraine’s defence with European—and by extension Spanish—security: the idea that containing Russia in the east is essential to preventing a scenario of long-term instability on the continent.
Spain, for its part, will have to demonstrate coherence between its rhetoric and its actions. Figures on assistance, reconstruction projects, and political involvement in EU fora will be closely scrutinised in both Kyiv and Brussels. The staging—official meetings, messages in Parliament, and symbolic references to Spain’s own historical memory—will reinforce a narrative of affinity between two countries that have experienced the devastation of war and the importance of safeguarding democracy from violence.
The visit will also test the ability of Spain’s political system to project an image of unity in foreign policy. While internal nuances may exist regarding the type and scope of support, the European and Euro-Atlantic frameworks to which Spain belongs require a clear stance towards Russian aggression. In this sense, Zelensky’s stop in Madrid will not be merely a bilateral event, but a credibility test for Spanish foreign policy at a time when Europe’s security has once again become an existential issue.