Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Spain on Wednesday, November 4, in a surprise visit to Madrid, opening a new leg of his push for stronger air defences and wider backing a week before Ukraine, Russia and the United States sit down together in Abu Dhabi. Zelenskiy announced the arrival himself on the Telegram messaging app and was shown online being greeted as he stepped off his aircraft, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

Spanish government sources said the visit was kept quiet for security reasons and was built around the two-day Ibero-American summit in Madrid, which Zelenskiy was personally invited to attend by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, according to AFP. After the summit finishes on Thursday, Zelenskiy will meet Sanchez and 'several leaders to exchange views on the situation of his country, its global repercussions and the main challenges for international peace and security', the sources said.

Source: AFP

Air defences before winter top the Madrid agenda

In his Telegram comments, Zelenskiy said his talks in Madrid would focus on boosting the air defences Ukraine needs to counter Russian air strikes in the run-up to winter, Reuters reported. He also said he planned to speak with US officials in the run-up to the planned three-way talks in Abu Dhabi next week, which will include Russia.

'Over these coming days, contacts with the American side are also planned,' Zelenskiy wrote. 'We're coordinating with our partners to achieve concrete results on security issues and the next steps toward peace.'

US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff said on Monday that the United States would bring together delegations from Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11 to discuss ending the war against Ukraine, post-war security agreements and de-escalation, Reuters reported. AFP said the Abu Dhabi meeting will be the first talks between all three sides since February.

A summit where support for Ukraine is divided

Madrid is hosting the 30th summit of the Ibero-American Community, a 22-nation group of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries mainly in Latin America, where support for Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion has divided opinion, AFP reported. The summit opens with an official ceremony on Wednesday, followed by a plenary session on Thursday, and its final declaration, still being negotiated, will focus on cooperation on disasters and civil protection as well as artificial intelligence.

Among the leaders in the Spanish capital are Argentina's Javier Milei and Chile's Jose Antonio Kast, both far-right presidents, and Bolivia's conservative Rodrigo Paz, AFP said. Spanish executive sources cited by Democrata said the leaders of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic are in Madrid, along with the President and the Prime Minister of Portugal. AFP noted the absence of two of Sanchez's leftist allies in the region's biggest countries: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Source: Democrata

Sanchez's office said he would meet Zelenskiy on Thursday, Reuters reported. Democrata, citing executive sources, said Sanchez will receive him late on Thursday afternoon at the Moncloa Palace, in what will be Zelenskiy's fifth visit to Spain since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, with the purpose of reaffirming Spain's support for Ukraine. Zelenskiy is also expected to hold a separate meeting with several attending heads of state and government after the summit concludes.

The Madrid stop follows Zelenskiy's Berlin visit on Tuesday, where Chancellor Friedrich Merz staged a show of support for Ukraine ahead of the Abu Dhabi peace talks. Read: Zelenskiy in Berlin — Merz stages show of support ahead of Abu Dhabi talks

Brussels works the same week: reconstruction and guarantees

While Zelenskiy travelled, delegations from Ukraine, Germany, France, Britain, the United States, NATO and the World Bank met in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss Ukraine's post-war reconstruction ahead of the Abu Dhabi talks, AFP reported. That work 'includes identifying instruments and tools that can support Ukraine's future development and own efforts', a European Commission statement said after the meeting, which is to be followed on Thursday by a NATO-hosted encounter on post-war security guarantees.

The diplomacy is unfolding against a hard week on the ground: Reuters reported on Wednesday that the death toll from a Russian bombing of an aid distribution point at Komyshuvakha in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region on Monday has risen to 40, with dozens still missing — one of the deadliest strikes on civilians this year — a reminder of why air defence heads Kyiv's asks as winter approaches. Zelenskiy held talks in Germany before flying to Spain, Reuters said.

What happens next

On Thursday, Zelenskiy meets Sanchez at Moncloa and holds his session with Ibero-American leaders as the summit holds its plenary, while NATO hosts the security-guarantees encounter in Brussels. The sequence then runs to Abu Dhabi on November 10-11, where Ukrainian and Russian delegations meet with the United States for the first trilateral talks since February. Sanchez is hosting the Madrid summit weeks before a November 29 Spanish election that AFP said he is predicted to lose.