Spain announced Wednesday it will send weapons to Ukraine, marking a shift in policy for a country that was reluctant to provide direct aid.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who previously said Spain would attempt to channel military aid to Ukraine through a European Union fund, made the announcement despite his junior government partner Podemos, a party on the far Left, expressing opposition to arms shipments, according to Bloomberg.
“Contributing to the escalation of the war will not resolve the conflict sooner and could lead us to a completely uncertain and very dangerous scenario of world conflict,” Ione Belarra, the head of Podemos, said in a statement.
Other European countries have indicated they will send aid to the invaded nation. Finland announced Monday it will supply Ukraine with 2,500 assault rifles, 150,000 cartridges for the rifles, 1,500 single-shot antitank weapons, and 70,000 combat ration packages.
LAWMAKERS PRAISE AND PAN BIDEN’S SPEECH, WONDER ABOUT ACTION
President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian air carriers flying into U.S. airspace during his State of the Union address Tuesday. The world’s largest shipping lines, along with mail carriers such as UPS and FedEx, have all cut service to Russia amid the invasion. Biden and Western nations also moved to impose sanctions on a Russian oil pipeline.
But Russian allies have pushed back on the penalties. Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said at a press conference that China does not support financial sanctions. The country has sent mixed signals on Russia’s invasion, calling for peace and expressing “regret” for the war without directly calling out Russia’s brutality.
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More than 5,800 Russian troops and 2,000 civilians were killed in first week of conflict, Ukrainian officials estimated.
