The figures for Spanish military deployments on NATO's eastern flank show that Spain has taken seriously its commitment to the Atlantic Alliance to strengthen the border with Russia, since the war in Ukraine began almost a year ago. Through land, sea and air, the Spanish military has redoubled – and will continue to do so – its presence in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania or Bulgaria under the umbrella of the Atlantic Alliance. An issue that, together with the shipment of weapons material to Ukraine, has been the cause of friction between government partners in the last 12 months.
The Government, behind the scenes, has spent a year justifying the lack of information and transparency about the delivery of war material to Kyiv with the statement "no information can be given to the enemy", as the Defense Minister, Margarita, has repeated. Oak trees. However, government sources refer to the continuing disagreement on this matter between PSOE and Unidas Podemos. Hence, unlike other European countries, the opacity with which the different shipments have been managed since the first one caused a real train wreck between the coalition parties.
Since the defense chartered the first two planes with offensive material in March last year – 1,370 grenade launchers, machine guns and 700,000 rifle cartridges – the Spanish contribution has not stopped at the requests of the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, according to military sources. The next supply, according to the planned calendar, will include the delivery of the Leopard 2A4 battle tanks that Spain is preparing. Before, Hawk launchers and the Aspide anti-missile battery have already been sent, in addition to about twenty battleships that are committed.
None of these shipments has gone through the Congress of Deputies for approval. And until now the Popular Party, which has always been favorable to the delivery of this war material, had not dragged the Minister of Defense to give explanations in parliament about it. Until today, the day that Robles will go to the lower house to rule on the matter thanks to an appeal from the popular. From the bench on the right, they await concretions from the minister, such as the number of Leopards that are being rehabilitated.
What is clear is the increase in the Spanish military presence on the eastern flank. Spain made an unprecedented reinforcement in 2022 in allied countries that share a border with Russia. Now, there are almost twice as many Spanish uniformed personnel – some 650 troops – in Latvia than when the war began. This large detachment features Leopard tanks, Pizarro combat vehicles, heavy mortars, and Spike anti-tank missiles. Just over 200 kilometers from the border, at the Lielvardes base, Spain has also deployed a Nasams missile system since last summer. This will be connected to the one that, starting in April, the Armed Forces will install at the Amari airbase in Estonia.
The detachment in Latvia, the largest, is precisely the one that the leader of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, intended to visit. A trip that has not been authorized by the Ministry of Defense, which was criticized yesterday for the veto. From Moncloa they assured that it is unprecedented for an opposition leader to visit the troops abroad.
By air, Spain also multiplied its presence last year in 2022. In aerial police work – to control Russian incursions – it had planned a single detachment, but finally there were two: eight F-18 fighters and 130 troops in Siauliai (Lithuania) and four Eurofighter and another 130 soldiers in Amari (Estonia). In addition, the only planned detachment in Romania and Bulgaria – to protect the airspace of the Black Sea – became four deployments with more than 400 troops and about twenty fighters. And by sea, the Navy has just deployed a frigate to navigate the tense Baltic Sea after the rotation of other vessels.
