Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has unveiled a fresh support package for Ukraine valued at €615 million, aimed at bolstering the country’s defence against Russia.
Sánchez announced the funding during a joint appearance in Madrid with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, noting that the assistance will become available next month.
Of the overall sum, €100 million will go toward Spain’s share of the PURL initiative, which helps channel US-supplied weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.
The new allocation falls under a broader bilateral security pact that commits Spain to supplying €1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine annually.
Sánchez also detailed that €202 million will be directed specifically toward reconstruction projects in Ukraine, with energy, water infrastructure and transport set as top priorities. Spanish firms are expected to take part in these rebuilding programmes.
The leaders signed several additional accords, including an agreement aimed at combating Russian disinformation, the Spanish government said. Sánchez reiterated that Spain’s backing for Ukraine remains firm, promising continued support ‘until a just and lasting peace is achieved’ and Ukraine can advance toward EU membership.
Zelensky thanked Sánchez for the continued assistance and stressed that unity among international partners is essential for bringing the war to an end.
Picasso’s Guernica
During his trip to Madrid, Zelensky made a brief stop with Sánchez to see Pablo Picasso’s ‘Guernica‘ up close at the Reina Sofía Museum – a gesture rich in symbolism.
Picasso’s colossal black-and-white canvas, one of the most recognisable works of the 20th century, portrays the terror inflicted on civilians during wartime. Filled with anguished figures, shrieking women, contorted horses and a wounded bull, the painting captures the 1937 bombing of Guernica (Gernika in the Basque Country) by Nazi and fascist Italian aircraft during Spain’s Civil War.
Over the decades, its fractured, cubist imagery has become synonymous with human suffering, brutality and defiance. A tapestry version hangs outside the UN Security Council chamber — where Russia, the country waging war against Ukraine, holds a permanent seat.
Zelensky has evoked the painting before. Speaking remotely to Spain’s parliament in April 2022, only months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, he said: ‘Imagine that people now – in Europe – live for weeks in basements to save lives. From shelling, from air bombs. Daily! April 2022 – and the reality in Ukraine is as if it’s April 1937. When the whole world learned the name of one of your cities – Guernica.’
Guernica has likewise drawn numerous high-profile visitors in the past. Former US President Barack Obama viewed it in 2018 alongside King Felipe VI, and novelist Salman Rushdie also travelled to see the painting a few years after a stabbing attack left him blind in one eye.
Spain’s Civil War ended in 1939, ushering in Franco’s dictatorship, which lasted until his death on 20 November 1975 — almost exactly half a century ago. Picasso refused to allow ‘Guernica‘ to be exhibited in Spain while Franco held power, so the work was loaned to New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1939, remaining there for decades.
It finally returned to Spain in 1981, just months after the country’s fledgling democracy survived an attempted military coup – widely seen as the last significant challenge to its democratic transition.
Zelensky’s latest tour through European capitals, including Madrid, reflects Kyiv’s pressing need to reinforce support among allies. His appearances at parliaments and major international gatherings have become central to his diplomatic strategy.
Prior to his stop in Spain, Zelensky held talks in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, where the two agreed on plans for Ukraine to obtain as many as 100 French fighter jets over the coming years.
Zelensky’s next destination is Turkey, where he is expected to press for revived negotiations with Russia.
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