Madrid to name roundabout after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Madrid mayor Jose Luis Martinez Almeida announced on Monday that the Spanish capital plans to name a roundabout near the Ukrainian Embassy after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Almeida said the name change would be an homage to the Ukrainian president’s “heroism and good example.”

Meanwhile, it was also announced that Zelenskyy is being given the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award for “his courageous fight against tyranny and for his indomitable stance for freedom and democracy."

Zelenskyy, who first made his name as a comedian, continues to lead Ukraine as the nation is under siege from Russian attacks. Last week, he described himself as “the enemy’s number one target.”

The Madrid mayor had originally said that the roundabout in front of the Ukrainian embassy would be called Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

However, he soon rectified after dozens on social media pointed out that the rotunda was named after writer LesyaUkrainka in 2019.

Ukrainka is a Ukrainian cultural icon for her writing and was also an activist in the Ukrainian national and feminist movements until her death in 1913.

So instead, he said the Volodymyr Zelenskyy rotunda will substitute the name of another roundabout around 450 meters (0.28 miles) from the Ukrainian Embassy.

In recent years, place names have become a highly political space in Spain.

In 2018, the left-wing mayor of Madrid approved the change of 52 street and plaza names that referenced the Franco dictatorship.

Ana Botella, the mayor before that, named a central square after British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global companies from Russia.