Spain to reopen Kyiv embassy in coming days: Premier Sanchez

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Monday that Spain will reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in the coming days.

“We’re reopening the embassy as a show of Spain’s commitment to the Ukrainian people,” Sanchez said in an interview with Spanish broadcaster Antena 3.

The embassy was fully evacuated on Feb. 25, a day after Russia began attacking Ukraine in its latest incursion into the country.

At the time, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Spain’s ambassador to Ukraine would return to the embassy as soon as it was safe to do so.

Speaking on Monday, Sanchez said what is playing out in Ukraine is not “a war between Russia and Ukraine.”

“It’s a war waged by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin on everything that the European Union represents: democracy, freedom and a model of prosperity based on social justice,” he said.

Sanchez also admitted that the war is taking an “obvious” economic toll on Spain and that the country will soon reduce its growth forecasts.

“But if we hadn’t done anything and if we had allowed Putin to just take over Ukraine, the cost would have been even higher,” he added.

At least 1,982 civilians have been killed and 2,651 injured in Ukraine since the start of the war on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates, with the true figure believed to be much higher.

More than 4.8 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with over 7 million more internally displaced, said the UN refugee agency.