Zelenskyy arrives in Madrid this Wednesday to meet with the King and Pedro Sánchez

Eduardo González Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive in Madrid this Wednesday, March 18, where he will be received by King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The visit, his fourth to Spain since the beginning of the Russian invasion four years ago, was announced last week by Defense Minister Margarita Robles during a press conference, though without specifying an exact date. According to a statement released Monday by the State Secretariat for Communication, Sánchez will receive Zelenskyy at 11:30 a.m. this Wednesday at the Moncloa Palace complex. Following the meeting, both leaders will hold a joint press conference. Additionally, according to the Royal Household, Zelenskyy will hold a meeting with King Felipe VI at the Zarzuela Palace. After visiting Madrid, Zelenskyy will travel to Brussels to participate this Thursday, as a guest, in the European Council meeting, which Pedro Sánchez will also attend. In his letter of invitation, the President of the European Council, António Costa, stressed the importance of “increasing pressure on Russia until it begins meaningful peace negotiations” and of reaffirming support for Ukraine in its defense and in the pursuit of lasting peace. Last week, the US government under Donald Trump announced its unilateral decision to temporarily suspend sanctions on Russian oil purchases, ostensibly to mitigate the impact of the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on crude oil prices. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asserted that the suspension of sanctions is temporary, for a period of 30 days, and “applies only to oil already in transit” and will not provide a significant financial benefit to the Russian government. However, António Costa warned that this “unilateral decision by the United States” affects “European security.” The European Commission stated that “Russia is profiting from the sale of its oil in the current situation.” Fourth visit This is the Ukrainian president's fourth visit to Spain since the beginning of the Russian invasion, which marked its fourth anniversary on February 24. His first visit took place in October 2023, during his participation in the European Political Community Summit held in Granada, as part of Spain's Presidency of the Council of the EU. The second official visit was in May 2024 in Madrid and included the signing, by Zelenskyy and the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, of the Security Cooperation Agreement between Spain and Ukraine, under which Spain commits to sending Kyiv a military aid package valued at €1.129 billion. During his third visit, in November 2025, Pedro Sánchez announced to Zelenskyy a new Spanish military aid package of €615 million, of which €100 million would be allocated through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a NATO mechanism to assist Ukraine through the joint procurement of weapons from the United States. This package also includes €300 million for the acquisition of new defensive equipment as part of the aforementioned Security Cooperation Agreement between Spain and Ukraine, signed during Zelenskyy's second visit. The remainder of the military aid package includes a transfer of €215 million through the EU's Action for Security in Europe (SAFE) financial instrument. In addition, Pedro Sánchez announced the deployment of €200 million in new financial instruments to boost Ukraine's reconstruction, bringing the total aid agreed upon during Zelenskyy's visit to €817 million. On that occasion, the Prime Minister accompanied the President of Ukraine to the Reina Sofía Museum, where he showed him Picasso's 'Guernica'. In early April 2022, barely a month and a half after the Russian invasion, Zelenskyy stated during a videoconference before the full Congress: "It's April 2022, but it feels like April 1937, when the whole world learned about the bombing of Guernica."

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