Oleksii Reznikov: The Ukrainian Defense Minister reveals that Spain has given him Harpoon anti-ship missiles to drive the Russian fleet away from its shores | Spain

The Ukrainian minister Oleksii Reznikov has revealed this Wednesday in Madrid that Spain has delivered Harpoon anti-ship missiles to Kiev that are serving to keep the Russian fleet away from the coasts of his country in the Black Sea. Reznikov had thanked the Spanish Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, for her participation in the coalition that supplies Ukraine with a weapons system that “is guaranteeing that African countries receive Ukrainian grain and survive famine.”

Until now, Spain had not reported the delivery of these anti-ship missiles to kyiv. In his last appearance in Congress, Robles spoke generically of the supply of “five naval systems” that corresponded, according to the sources consulted, to five Harpoon AGM-84 missiles at a cost of one million dollars per unit. The minister has excused herself, alleging that Spain acts with discretion and does not detail the material it delivers to kyiv, unless it is the Ukrainians themselves who decide to make it public.

Although he has not expressly attributed it to a Harpoon missile, Reznikov has boasted of the sinking of the missile cruiser Moskva (“Moscow”), on April 14 of last year, recalling that it is the first time since the Russo-Japanese war at the beginning of the 20th century. that the flagship of the Russian Navy is sinking and ironically offering himself as a guide for divers who want to visit the wreck, between 40 and 70 meters deep. According to the Ukrainian minister, the agreement with the United Nations and Turkey to move Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea would not have been possible if the Russian fleet had not been forced to move 200 kilometers away from the coast, a distance that coincides with the effective range of the Harpoons.

Reznikov has made no secret that obtaining the support of the Spanish Armada, which he has described as “one of the best in the world”, was one of the objectives of his trip. The minister, who has traveled from Poland on a Spanish Air Force plane, has been accompanied by the head of his country’s Navy, Oleksii Neizhpapa, which has led Defense to incorporate the acting chief into its delegation of the Navy, Admiral Carlos Martínez-Merelo, after the death of its owner.

Immediately behind the anti-aircraft systems and the 105 and 155 mm howitzers, with their corresponding defense ammunition, amphibious vehicles and landing ships have been mentioned as a priority. In addition to guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, through demining operations, he has indicated that for his country it is “primary” to recover the Ukrainian coasts in the Azov Sea, currently occupied by Russia, for which he needs boats and drones. , as well as staff training and technical support.

Reznikov has not expressed the request for combat aircraft but, when asked about it, has indicated that this demand is included in that of anti-aircraft defense systems. When listing the fighters that his country wants to obtain, he has mentioned two models that Spain does not have, the American F-16 and the Swedish Saab Gripen, and only generically has he alluded to “fourth and a half generation” aircraft, which includes The Spanish Eurofighters. Defense, in any case, rules out supplying them.

The ones that are in Ukraine before the end of April, according to Robles, are the six Leopard 2 A4 battle tanks that have been rehabilitated at the Santa Bárbara Armored (SBB) plant in Alcalá de Guadaíra (Seville). The tanks will be transported to Poland by sea, together with 20 TOA (Armoured Caterpillar Transport) that will be added to the 20 already delivered. “We hope that by the end of the month the Leopards will start to roar in the Ukraine with a Spanish accent,” said Reznikov.

The minister recounted in a complicit tone that it was the Spanish offer for the tankers of his country to be instructed in handling the Leopard with the six tanks that the Spanish Army has deployed in Latvia, at a time when Germany “was wandering”. , according to his words, and he was reluctant to authorize the delivery of the tanks, which encouraged him to fight a battle in which Berlin would end up giving in. Robles has promised his guest that Spain will provide “total and absolute support to Ukraine, to the best of its ability, for as long as it is necessary.”

The Ukrainian minister has played down the leak of Pentagon documents that include Ukraine’s operational planes and its stocks of military material, assuring that those “mix truth and lies”, contain many false data and “those that are real are out of date”. . He has assured that it is a “special psychological operation” by Moscow – alluding to the term “special operation” with which Russia refers to the invasion of Ukraine – whose objective is to “lower confidence between the allies and the United States”. ; since they make it clear that Washington has spied on them.

After being convinced that “the Americans will do everything possible to limit the scope [de la fuga], establish the origin of the leak and prevent it from happening again in the future,” he reiterated his “full confidence” in the United States. Robles has also stressed that “the unity between the allies is total and absolute and Russia is not going to manage to break it in any case”. Both have denied, contrary to what the leaked documents claim, that there are NATO soldiers in Ukraine, beyond the embassy attachés.

After lunch, the two ministers went to the Gómez Ulla Military Hospital, where they visited Ukrainian soldiers evacuated to Spain to treat their wounds and Reznikov decorated Spanish medical personnel from said military health center and from Zaragoza. Before leaving Spain, the Ukrainian Defense Minister planned to meet with representatives of Spanish military companies to which he has offered joint ventures to produce weapons in his country.