What Spain hands over to Ukraine: Aspide SAM battalion, Hawk air defense systems, anti-tank systems, guns and projectiles

Spain helps Ukraine ensure the protection of its airspace from Russian air and missile strikes.

The new military assistance package from Spain includes a battery of the Aspide anti-aircraft missile system, four Hawk air defense systems, anti-tank missile systems, as well as guns and shells for them.

This was stated by Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, at a briefing in Kyiv with his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel Albares, according to European Pravda.

“I am very glad that there is a new package, it is already on its way to Ukraine, and in the near future our state will strengthen its defense capabilities by receiving a battalion of the Aspide anti-aircraft missile system and missiles to it, four Hawk air defense systems, anti-tank missile systems, guns and shells to them, as well as other military equipment,” he stressed.

The Minister noted that Spain’s decision to transfer Hawk air defense systems a few weeks ago was a signal for other countries to start searching for Hawk systems for their transfer to Ukraine.

“This is exactly what we asked Spain for. This is what will help us protect our civilian infrastructure,” Kuleba said.

On November 2, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares arrived on a visit to Kyiv. He also held a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at which he spoke, in particular, about the protection of the Ukrainian sky.

The President specifically thanked Spain for its decision to transfer air defense systems to Ukraine.

“For us today, this is really the number one issue to provide powerful air defense, to create an air shield to protect our critical and civilian infrastructure,” Zelensky said during a meeting with Albares.

The fact that Ukraine will receive four Hawk anti-aircraft missile systems from Spain was announced by Oleksii Reznikov, Defense Minister, on October 13.

These weapons are transferred to strengthen the air defense of Ukraine, which should protect the country from Russian missiles and air strikes.

Back in June, it became known that Spain was ready to transfer the short-range air defense system Aspide to Ukraine. It was claimed in October that the Ukrainian military was already receiving training on how to operate this ground-based anti-aircraft missile system. Training was divided into two parts: for operators and for service personnel.