A new batch of Patriot missiles from Spain arrived in Ukraine on Friday, June 21, as part of Madrid’s latest military pledge for Ukraine as renewed Russian missiles continued to pound Ukraine’s dwindling energy infrastructure.
Madrid officials confirmed to Spanish news outlet El Mundo the delivery, which included the second batch of Leopard tanks, ammunitions including 155mm artillery shells, anti-drone systems, optical surveillance and tracking systems, and remote weapon turrets.
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The latest package from Madrid is part of the military package Madrid announced during the May 20 Ramstein format meeting.
El Pais, another Spanish news outlet, earlier reported that Spain would commit to sending a dozen Patriot missiles to Ukraine, but it’s unclear if the numbers referenced alluded to the latest package; government officials declined to comment on the El Pais report, according to Reuters.
In early May, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles stated that Spain had already delivered an unspecified number of Patriot missiles to Ukraine.
The arrival of fresh Patriot missiles could help Kyiv fend off Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure – eight times thus far this year – which Moscow, over the course of three months, was able to wipe off half of the power generation needed to power Ukraine last winter by capitalizing on the latter’s lack of air defense.
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On May 26, Spain also pledged €1 billion ($1 billion) in military aid to Ukraine for 2024 as part of the bilateral security agreement between Kyiv and Madrid.
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