President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced significant assistance from Spain, aimed at strengthening Ukraine's air defense with scarce missiles. As an UNIAN correspondent reports, Zelensky said this at joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid.

Defense interaction

"Spain consistently fulfills our bilateral security agreement. And this gives confidence in annual support. A billion euros every year is strong support," Zelenskyy noted.

Strengthening Ukraine's air defense

Zelensky expressed gratitude for Spain's willingness to make a new contribution to the PURL program, which was agreed upon today. This concerns the possibility of purchasing air defense missiles.

The head of state said that there is a particularly acute shortage of missiles for Patriot systems. However, according to Zelensky, the new defense package from Spain includes missiles for air defense.

"This is a big deficit for us during the winter. A big deficit. And here is a specific package - 40 missiles for Iris-T air defense systems. The total volume of the package is 300 million. This will significantly help us," Zelenskyy emphasized.

New agreements on joint weapons production

Zelenskyy spoke about a substantive conversation with Spanish defense companies, and in particular, the signing of a memorandum of understanding on industrial cooperation in the field of security and defense between the Spanish companies Escribano and Tecnova and the Ukrainian company Praktika.

As the president emphasized, Ukraine is launching a project to supply long-range target detection radars.

"This can significantly strengthen us," Zelenskyy said.

He got acquainted with the Spanish production, which he called"absolutely unique."

"And we will try to do all this in a real war," Zelensky said.

The head of state announced his readiness for joint production of high-precision weapons. At the same time, Zelensky is not ready to reveal all the details.

"We will develop our technological capabilities. We will talk about radars. Radars are very important for Ukraine. We will raise the issue of long-range capability. I am not yet ready to talk about this publicly. It is also important for us. What we saw today is already a step forward in terms of our armored vehicles. These are armored vehicles, which Ukraine has the ability to produce 4,000 per year. And indeed, our army has a corresponding request," Zelensky noted.

As the president said, Ukraine's approach involves the following vision: if there is an opportunity to produce more, then we need to start joint production, start exporting products, open new production facilities in order to earn money and spend it on scarce weapons, which are in short supply. In particular, we are talking about drones.

"Today, such a signing took place. This is the beginning. In my opinion, this is such a unique agreement," Zelensky added.

Gratitude for new aid from Spain

"I am very grateful for the decision that you, Pedro, made regarding the Hawk, and for the weapon that helped us defend ourselves from Russian assaults. These were very important decisions. You know, time passes, and people forget how to get through the winter, when there are blackouts, and in such dark and very difficult moments, you always remember the friends who gave you light," Zelensky said.

As the President of Ukraine noted, in the face of constant Russian attacks, Ukraine appreciates Spain's willingness to help and continue to do so in the future. The President of Ukraine also discussed various challenges with the Prime Minister of Spain.

"Undoubtedly, one of the more difficult challenges is the energy sector after the Russian strikes. And Spain is willing to help us. I thank you for this economic package - it is 200 million euros, in particular for energy," Zelensky said.

There is also an agreement that Spain will direct funds under the SAFE program in the amount of more than 200 million euros to joint defense work."And this is very tangible and important for the future. This is the right example for other European states," Zelensky said.

New aid package for Ukraine from Spain - what is known

As UNIAN reported, today, November 18, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced that within a month Spain will adopt a new aid package for Ukraine with a total value of 615 million euros. He noted that this package will include 300 million for weapons, as part of a 1 billion euro agreement that the country has pledged to provide material security to Ukraine.

Sanchez also said that another 100 million euros will go to NATO's PURL program, which will finance the urgent purchase of defense systems for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Another 215 million euros will go through SAFE.

The Spanish Prime Minister added that in addition to this package, Spain also plans to introduce a new financial instrument to assist Ukraine, attracting 200 million euros. He noted that the project will concern the reconstruction of Ukraine.