Spain’s defense minister warns that Russia could again attack Kyiv

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles warned Tuesday that Russia could again attack Kyiv.

“The theater of the war has changed,” she said at a news conference, referring to the current concentration of fighting in eastern Ukraine. “But intelligence services worldwide warn that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s attacks could return to Kyiv or any other part of Ukraine.”

Robles affirmed that the Russian government will “without a doubt” use “natural gas as a weapon of war” and urged “solidarity and unity” within Spain and the EU.

Spain has implemented energy savings measures that include turning off the lights of shops and public buildings after 10 p.m. and reducing the use of heating and air conditioning.

“This forecast is that this will be a long, hard and cruel war, similar to a 20th-century war like World War I or World War II,” she said. “This is going to be a tough winter.”

Robles also announced that “Ukraine is looking to buy new, modern tanks from Spain and other countries” and that Madrid has already offered to train Ukrainian soldiers on how to use them.