Early on Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrived in Kiev together with his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Both leaders arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train, after traveling overnight from Poland. On the agenda is a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenski, to whom Sanchez wants to convey "Spain's support and solidarity" in the face of the Russian invasion.
According to a statement by the Danish government, the two wanted to discuss with Zelensky the current situation in his country, further support for the Ukrainians and the prosecution of war crimes and human rights violations in connection with the war initiated by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the meeting, Sanchez, Frederiksen and Zelensky are expected to hold a joint press conference.
Just arrived to Kyiv.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) April 21, 2022
Ukraine has the support, solidarity and commitment of Spain. pic.twitter.com/QyXMEA7vcY
But before that, from Kiev's central station, Sanchez headed to the town of Borodyanka, about 48 kilometers northwest of the Ukrainian capital, which was besieged and shelled by Russian troops. The Spanish prime minister intends to visit there some of the scenes where the fighting has taken place.
Conmovido al comprobar en las calles de Borodyanka el horror y las atrocidades de la guerra de Putin.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) April 21, 2022
No dejaremos solo al pueblo ucraniano. pic.twitter.com/OfEIa9oOTC
Sanchez's visit also coincides with the reopening of the Spanish Embassy in Kiev, which has been closed since February 25.
The prime minister's trip comes just one day after the visit he made to the reception, welcome and referral center in Malaga. There, the head of government explained that there are some 134,000 Ukrainians who have arrived in Spain since the Russian aggression began. Of those, more than 65,000 have already received temporary protection authorization.
Around 39% of those requests correspond to minors under 18 years of age. According to the government, it is estimated that some 15,412 minors have already been enrolled in Spanish educational centers.
In the reception centers for Ukrainian refugees that have been established in Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante and Malaga, NGOs have assisted 61,130 people since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
5 million fled Ukraine
The Spanish Minister of the Presidency, Relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory, Félix Bolaños, chaired on Wednesday the eleventh meeting of the National Security Situation Committee.
At the meeting, the development of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and its repercussions at the international and national levels were assessed.
The committee evaluated the work of different groups on sanctions against Russia, cybersecurity and displaced Ukrainians.
More than 5 million people have been forced to leave Ukraine because of the war, to which are added more than 7 million internally displaced persons, according to estimates of the Spanish government.
