Surprising visit to Spain: Zelenskyj at the Ibero-American summit in Madrid

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is in Spain by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and King Felipe VI. been received. He also met several Latin American heads of state and government in Madrid on the sidelines of the 30th Ibero-American Summit. Zelensky thanked Sánchez for inviting him to the summit and for his support for Ukraine.

He called on Latin American leaders to speak in their home countries about Russia's war of aggression against his country. “Make sure the world knows about these crimes,” Spanish state TV channel RTVE quoted him as saying. Although many Latin American countries have condemned Russia's war of aggression, they have otherwise hardly contributed to any aid to Ukraine.

Sánchez emphasized that support for Ukraine should not come only from European countries. “The world must support Ukraine in its fight for freedom and in its fight for international law, otherwise we would (...) legitimize the law of the strongest,” he warned.

Zelenskyj makes specific requests to individual Latin American countries

The Ukrainian head of state, who also met with the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the Vice-President of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, listed in front of the summit participants what aid his country urgently needs to secure its energy supply. He mentioned transformers from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, electrical cables from Chile and diesel and gas generators from Spain.

Such deliveries are important because Russia repeatedly attacks Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leading to widespread power outages and, as winter approaches, disruptions to heat supplies for millions of people.