Spanish PM to visit Kyiv in coming days to meet Zelenskyy
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a speech as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears on a screen to address the lower house by videoconference, at the Spanish parliament in Madrid, Spain, April 5, 2022. (AFP Photo)


Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will travel to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming days, a government source said on Tuesday.

The announcement came a day after Spain said it would reopen its embassy in Kyiv "in a number of days."

Sanchez "will travel to Kyiv in the coming days, you will understand that I can't give you more information about the visit for security reasons," government spokesperson Isabel Rodriguez told a press conference.

"It is a way of showing our commitment to the Ukrainian people and government," she added after a regular weekly Cabinet meeting.

Sanchez is following in the footsteps of several other European leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who have gone to Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion of the country in a show of support.

Spain is providing aid to Ukraine through military equipment, humanitarian aid and by welcoming tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.

The country has so far sent 12 planes with tons of weapons and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said Monday.

"We will send as many planes are as necessary," she added.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy compared Russia's devastating assault on his country to the Nazis' 1937 bombing of the northern Spanish town of Guernica in an address to Spain's parliament earlier this month.