Ukraine and Netherlands Put Pressure on Spain to Supply Kyiv with Patriot Battery

The Netherlands and Ukraine are pressuring Spain to join the Patriot Coalition and provide Kyiv with a missile defence battery to protect it from Russian attacks.

According to El Pais, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conveyed his request to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during the European Political Community summit in the vicinity of Chisinau last week.

The issue was also the subject of consultations with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as it is in Türkiye where Spain has deployed its Patriot battery.

However, as noted, Erdoğan opposes the withdrawal of Patriot from his country before the expiry of the relevant contract, which expires at the end of this year.

One of the two batteries belonging to Spain has been deployed at Türkiye's Incirlik base since 2015, while the other is located in the Valencia Autonomous Community in Spain's east and is important for national defence.

On 1 June, after arriving at the European Political Community summit in Moldova, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the creation of a "Patriot coalition". This initiative was supported by Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte.