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Spain's pledge and talk of a freeze
Summary
A Spanish security pact and reports of Russian interest in a ceasefire pointed in different directions in late May 2024.
What did Kyiv's partners and Moscow appear to want as of 28 May 2024? Two reports from the preceding days pointed in different directions.
On 27 May 2024, Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, signed a bilateral security pact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He also pledged €1 billion (US$1.1 billion) of military aid to Ukraine. The step added to the military support flowing to Kyiv during the war.
Three days earlier, on 24 May 2024, sources claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was interested in negotiating a ceasefire. Such a deal would freeze the conflict at the current frontlines.
Two signals, one war
The contrast is the point. Madrid was committing money and a formal security arrangement to Ukraine's defence. Moscow, according to those sources, was weighing a halt that would leave the existing lines in place.
A freeze at the current frontlines would be a different outcome from the one Kyiv's backers were arming Ukraine to pursue. The sources' claim was not a public Russian offer, and it came alongside continued Western support, as the Spanish pact showed.
