The Ukrainian community in Spain systematically assists Ukrainian defenders by collecting humanitarian aid, knitting nets, and making trench candles, said Mykhaylo Petrunyak, President of the Federation of Associations of Ukrainians in Spain, in an interview with Priamyi TV channel.
“We had days when we loaded two twenty-ton trucks of humanitarian aid, where everything was loaded, including walkie-talkies, drones, thermal imagers, and, of course, later filled with food, clothing, and essentials for the Armed Forces. It’s harder to say what we didn’t put there,” says Petrunyak.
In total, Ukrainians in Spain have provided Ukraine with nearly 200 ambulances and humanitarian aid worth billions of euros, journalists report. For example, Ukrainian women in Valencia formed the ‘Malvy’ Association and knit nets for the front. One Spanish resident donated four tons of fishing nets to them for the Association.
The community also produces trench candles for Ukrainian defenders. Throughout Valencia, Ukrainians and friends of Ukraine collect canned jars and paraffin and deliver grids and candles to the military weekly. Overall, they have woven 3,300 square meters of camouflage nets and sent them to the front, as well as made 11,800 candles, which should last for 590 days.
Diplomatic efforts are also ongoing, added Mr. Petrunyak. “Since 2005, we have been striving for the Spanish government to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine as genocide against the Ukrainian people. To this day, even the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has recognized it, and almost all European Union countries. Spain is the only one remaining,” Petrunyak summarized.
Cover: Priamyi TV channel’s screenshot.
