SPAIN’S LATEST EFFORT TO HELP UKRAINE DOWN RUSSIA
Among the vehicles sent by Spain to Ukraine are Armored Personnel Carrier tanks
similar to THE above photo (M113 Armored Personnel Carriers)
On the first week of October 2022, the Spanish Ministry of Defense sent a new land convoy of eight light vehicles, two ambulances and five tons of diverse medical material to Ukraine which were provided by the Army, the Navy and the Military Emergency Unit (UME). The shipment will serve the logistical and health needs of Ukraine, considered by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense as their highest priority.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles: she was on hand to wish the convoy safe journey
The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, was present at the departure of the convoy from Alcalá de Henares located in northeastern Madrid, and wished the drivers a safe journey as well as thanked everyone for their work. The convoy headed by land to Poland where it will be received in four to five days by Ukrainian authorities. Also present at the departure were the Secretary-General for Defense Policy, Admiral Juan F. Martínez Núñez, and the Colonel-in-Chief of the 1st Transport Group, Fernando García Mercadal.
In the next few days, a further shipment of 12 heavy vehicles will be sent by sea from the port of Bilbao to the port of an allied country near Ukraine. From there it will travel by land to a Polish logistics center.
Spain sends ambulances
The sum total of the shipments is 22 vehicles which include nine heavy transport trucks, four ambulances, two of them all-terrain and two road ambulances, some 80 tons in vehicles alone, in addition to 5,000 kg of medical equipment.
In her meeting with the press, the Defense Minister explained that “these [shipments] are the priorities that Ukraine has at the moment, This is what they are asking us for. The war is very cruel, there are many wounded people, and they urgently need medical material.”
In addition to her announcement of the shipment of arms slated for November, Robles spoke about the training of Ukrainian soldiers who are currently in Zaragoza. (Note that the Air Base in Zaragoza is home to the Spanish Air and Space Force.)
Ukrainian soldier: soldiers will come to Spain for training and, for the wounded, to be treated
“Starting 1 November, more [Ukrainian] soldiers will arrive, initially in Zaragoza but possibly also in other places,” said Robles who was scheduled to visit the Aragonese capital the next day, venue of her Ministry’s “small meeting with the Ukrainian military, and [where] we will also visit the wounded [Ukrainian soldiers] who are in the Military Hospital.”
More than 30 aircraft and counting
It has been revealed that to date, 6 October 2022, Spain’s aid to Ukraine has consisted of “some 31 aircraft, the transport of material and personnel, including both the wounded and children, nearly 80 trucks and two ships.”
Respirators are among the medical equipment for Ukrainian soldiers. (Photo: air-purifying face mask respirator)
Spain is acting in coordination with the NATO countries, the EU and the 45-nation Donor Group, and has contributed more than €200 million to the European Peace Facility for Ukraine.
In short: Spain’s assistance has generally consisted of field artillery, fuel, armored vehicles, point defense missile systems, medical supplies and winter clothing and equipment. Moreover, basic training for Ukrainian forces has begun in Spain.
While always safeguarding its own operational capability, the two new shipments are the latest in the Ministry of Defense’s continued commitment to providing sustained support to Ukraine in its struggle against Russia for more than seven months now.
Source: La Moncloa Gobierno de España
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Images (generic)
Featured image/CPL Rick T. O’Connor, Usmc, PD via Wikimedia
Ambulance (Samur — Emergency and Rescue Assistance ambulance of Madrid )/M. Peinado, CC BY3.0 via Wikipedia
Margarita Robles/US secretary of Defense, CC BY2.0 via Flickr
Ukrainian soldier/manhhai (AP photo/Efren Lakatsky), CC BY2.0 via Flickr
Respirator/John Dimos and Paul Satti, PD-USGOV-HHS-CDC via Wikipedia
