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King Felipe VI of received the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Tuesday November 18. This is Zelensky's third visit to Spain since the Russian invasion.

 

The heads of state held a meeting followed by a private lunch at the Zarzuela Palace. This visit was originally scheduled for April but had to be cancelled due to its coinciding with the death of Pope Francis, whose funeral he attended along with King Felipe and Queen Letizia.

 

Zelenskiy is visiting Spain from France as part of his European tour to garner support and bolster allied aid in the war against Russia. The Ukrainian leader's first event in Spain took place at the Congress of Deputies, where he met with the Speaker of the House, Francina Armengol, and the President of the Senate, Pedro Rollán. After lunch with the King, it was announced that this afternoon Zelenskiy will travel to the Reina Sofía Museum to visit Picasso's Guernica.

 

Afterwards, Pedro Sánchez and the Ukrainian president will meet at the Moncloa Palace for a joint press conference.

 

Just days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the King, in his speech at the opening of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on March 2, condemned the military offensive as an "unacceptable aggression against a sovereign and independent nation."

 

He also expressed Spain's willingness to "help, together with the EU and the international community, which sees this war as a threat to Europe and the world order."

 

Over the past three years, this initial message of support has been followed by others in various forums both in Spain and abroad, where the King has consistently condemned the Russian invasion in the strongest terms and demonstrated Spain's solidarity with Ukraine. He has also pledged the supply of military equipment and humanitarian aid needed in response to Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure.

 

Later today, Sánchez and Zelenskiy will address the media to report on the understandings reached, including the status of the agreement signed in 2024 under which Spain committed to contributing €1 billion.

 

Images: Casa del Rey