From Kyiv, Spanish, Danish premiers announce more military aid to Ukraine

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - During their visit to Ukraine on Thursday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen announced that they will send significantly more weapons and military aid to the war-torn country.

Sanchez said a Spanish navy ship carrying 200 tons of weapons, ammunition, and other military material has already set sail for Poland. This shipment more than doubles what Spain had previously sent.

He also announced that dozens of Spanish experts will help contribute to the International Criminal Court’s investigations of war crimes in Ukraine, including 39 forensic experts who will conduct fieldwork.

“The atrocities being committed in Ukraine cannot go unpunished,” he said after having been to the liberated town of Borodyanka, where he said he was “shocked to witness the horror and atrocities of Putin’s war.”

Frederiksen also announced that Denmark will send $90 million more in weapons and will help Ukraine demine the region.

“I’m deeply moved by what I have seen and felt here today,” Frederiksen said at a news conference alongside Sanchez and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We have all seen the reports and images of the horrible crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, but today we saw it with our own eyes and it is heartbreaking.”

Zelenskyy thanked the leaders for their visit but insisted that Ukraine needs even more help, including a full EU blockade on Russian oil and gas.

He also told the press that Ukraine continues to negotiate with Russia to get civilians and the injured out of the besieged city of Mariupol, which Moscow said has been largely overtaken by Russian forces. However, no progress has been made and Russians continue to block the city, Zelenskyy said.