During the participation in the European Political Community summit in Granada, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez and Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni.

This was reported on the official Telegram page of the President of Ukraine.

The President noted that the discussion concerned military assistance to Ukraine, air defense systems, artillery, and ammunition.

They also discussed the provision of energy equipment to Ukraine before the start of the winter season and the protection of the grain corridor.

“We discussed a new defense aid package that includes additional air defense, artillery, and counter unmanned aerial systems. We are preparing to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU under the Spanish presidency. Thank you for supporting our aspirations,” said Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine.

In his turn, he thanked the Italian Minister for her assistance to Ukraine and discussed with her the developments at the frontline and the need for air defense systems.

“I am grateful to Italy for its principled and consistent support in the defense of our freedom, our people, and our families. I informed about the course of our counteroffensive and our priority defense needs. We discussed the next military assistance package from Italy, and in particular, ways to strengthen our air defense,” the President reported.

The governments of Italy and Spain have actively supported Ukraine throughout the full-scale war and transferred weapons from their armed forces to improve Ukraine’s defense capabilities.

These countries paid special attention to the transfer of missiles and air defense systems. For example, Italy and France agreed to transfer SAMP/T air defense systems that are currently defending the skies over Ukraine.

This air defense system is developed on the basis of the French Aster-30 solid-fuel anti-aircraft missile. The missile has a flight speed of 4.5M (1400 m/s). The weight of the warhead is 20 kg, and the launch weight is 450 kg.

Spain, in turn, is transferring 155-mm ER02A1 projectiles.

The high-explosive version, developed jointly with the Spanish army, was qualified, unlike the lighting and smoke variants.