Sánchez announces to Zelenskyy a new €1 billion military aid package for Ukraine in 2026

Eduardo González Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced this Wednesday in Madrid to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a new bilateral military aid package for 2026 worth €1 billion, a good part of it through the EU's financial instrument Action for the Security of Europe (SAFE). "We cannot deny that today the crisis in the Middle East largely monopolizes the global conversation, dominates the headlines, and captures everyone's attention. And precisely for that reason, I want to tell the President, the government of Ukraine, and Ukrainian society that nothing and no one will make us forget what is happening in Ukraine and that we will maintain our support for the Ukrainian people with the same intensity as from the very beginning," Sánchez declared during the joint press conference held with Zelenskyy after meeting with him at the Moncloa Palace complex. “What we are risking with Ukraine is not only the freedom of the Ukrainian people, but also the very strength of the European project,” he warned. “Ukraine’s actions are intimately linked to the future of the European Union (…) and these are the reasons that lead us to support Ukraine as a country and as a future member state of the European Union,” he asserted. During his meeting with Zelenskyy, Sánchez presented the Ukrainian president with the Spanish government’s new measures in support of his country, which notably include “a new commitment of one billion euros for the year 2036 in bilateral military support.” Thanks to this new package, according to Moncloa Palace, the Spanish government will have allocated €3.795 billion in military aid to Ukraine between 2022 and 2026. €250 million was allocated in 2022, €420 million in 2023, €1.072 billion in 2024, €1.053 billion in 2025, and an additional €1 billion will be allocated in 2026. “Of that one billion euros to finance the year 2026, a significant portion will be financed through the European Union’s SAFE instrument,” a tool launched “a few months ago” by the European Commission to strengthen the European defense industrial base through long-term loans for joint acquisitions among member states, he explained. “We will continue working to ensure that other member states also utilize this instrument,” he affirmed. “We will continue working to ensure that other member states also utilize this instrument,” he added. Furthermore, Sánchez announced that the two countries will “work together and promote co-production and co-manufacturing in the defense industry.” “To that end, several agreements have been signed today by both the Ministry of Defense and various companies that have expressed interest in co-producing jointly with local companies,” he explained. Specifically, on Wednesday, the Ministries of Defense of both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding for joint Ukrainian-Spanish military production and several cooperation agreements between different companies in the sector for the manufacture of missiles and munitions guidance systems. [caption id="attachment_139879" align="alignnone" width="750"] Photo: Pool Moncloa / Fernando Calvo[/caption] In economic matters, an agreement on technical and financial cooperation was signed, establishing rules and procedures to facilitate and support the implementation of projects in Ukraine financed, at least partially, by Spain and carried out with significant participation from Spanish institutions. Based on this agreement, a railway project between the Spanish Official Credit Institute (ICO) and Ukrainian Railways is included, which will allow cooperation in engineering, design, and testing for automatic gauge switching. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Diplomatic Academies of both countries to promote cooperation in the training of diplomatic and consular staff, as well as specialists in international affairs. Zelenskyy For his part, the President of Ukraine—who began his visit to Spain with a meeting with executives from the defense company Sener Aerospace & Defense—stated at the press conference that both the Spanish government and companies are working together to improve the technological development of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, a collaboration that will be strengthened by the aforementioned Memorandum of Understanding. “Ukraine is ready to share the knowledge we acquired during the war, especially regarding drones, experience, and capabilities, and the Spanish defense industry has the capacity to supply the projectiles, radars, and equipment that Ukraine needs,” he explained. This joint production, he specified, will focus primarily on technology, with particular attention to precision radars and drone manufacturing, in order to improve long-range attacks and air defense. Furthermore, Zelenskyy emphasized that “Spain was one of the first countries in Europe to send funds under the SAFE defense program to support production and assist Ukraine.” “Today we agreed on a list of products that will be manufactured within the framework of SAFE,” the president stated, adding that his government is collaborating with European states, including Spain, to ensure that this EU program and its related funds are also used for production in Ukraine. He also stressed the need to “increase funding and arms production capacity in Ukraine or in coordination with other European countries” and for the EU to release the “90 billion euros blocked” due to Hungary’s veto, an issue that will be addressed at Thursday’s European Council meeting, which both Sánchez and Zelenskyy will attend. Furthermore, Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted that, despite the war in the Middle East, Ukraine continues to receive all the promised military aid packages. “No one has stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine, and we have all the aid packages. Of course, we fear they may be reduced, but they keep arriving,” he added. Regarding US President Donald Trump's decision to temporarily lift oil sanctions on Russia, supposedly to mitigate the impact of the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on oil prices, Zelensky was clear: "Ukraine has no positive feelings toward Iran, which has helped Russia by sending drones and missiles since the beginning of the war," but "Russia has earned €10 billion from this war (the Middle East war) solely from the surge in crude oil prices, and all that money is invested in weapons that they use against us." "Russia has a vested interest in this war, and therefore the rest of the world must work to end it," he warned. Fourth visit Zelenskyy was received at the Zarzuela Palace by King Felipe VI, whom he had met during his previous official visits to Spain. Also present at this fourth meeting were the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, Diego Martínez Belío, and the Spanish Ambassador to Ukraine, Ricardo López-Armada. [caption id="attachment_139877" align="alignnone" width="750"] Photo: Casa Real[/caption] This Wednesday marked the Ukrainian president's fourth visit to Spain since the beginning of the Russian invasion, which marked its fourth anniversary on February 24. The first visit took place in October 2023, during his participation in the Summit of the European Political Community, held in Granada under Spain's Presidency of the Council of the EU. The second visit, an official one, was in Madrid in May 2024 and included the signing, by Zelenskyy and Pedro Sánchez, of the Security Cooperation Agreement between Spain and Ukraine, under which Spain committed to sending Kyiv a military aid package valued at €1.129 billion. During the third visit, in November 2025, Pedro Sánchez announced to Zelenskyy a Spanish military aid package of €615 million, of which €100 million corresponded to the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), a NATO mechanism to assist Ukraine through the joint procurement of weaponry from the United States. This package also included €300 million for the acquisition of new defensive equipment as part of the aforementioned Cooperation Agreement and a transfer of €215 million through SAFE.

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