Robles participates in the new meeting of the Contact Group for the defence of Ukraine

The minister was accompanied by the Secretary General for Defence Policy, Juan Francisco Martínez Núñez.

Prior to the speeches by the various countries, the Ukrainian Minister for Defence, Oleksii Reznikov, gave an update on the situation on the ground and outlined the most urgent needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This was augmented by presentations by senior US, Ukrainian and NATO military commanders in two sessions that also addressed issues related to training and sustaining the effort in support.

During the last session, the defence ministers focused on the latest contributions of their respective countries and future projections. Spain announced that six Leopard 2A 4 battle tanks will be shipped in the near future after their overhaul, to which a second batch of another four units will be added at a later date. "Yesterday we completed the training of 55 Ukrainian servicemen who will be part of the crew and maintenance team of these tanks", said the minister, who also announced the delivery of a new batch of M-113 TOA Infantry Vehicles.

She also referred to the training activities of Ukrainian personnel being carried out under the direction of the Toledo Training Coordination Centre in the framework of the European Union Assistance Mission to Ukraine. To date, more than 850 military personnel have been trained in Spain in a wide range of specialities.

In conclusion, the minister said that, for as long as it is necessary, "Spain will continue to support Ukraine's self-defence and its admirable effort and courage to regain its freedom and dignity with military equipment, training and humanitarian aid".

Non official translation