Pedro Sánchez assures Ukrainian refugees in Spain of "the commitment and solidarity of the Spanish people" and guarantees them that they will have "all the rights, permissions and capabilities" to feel at home

Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has conveyed "the commitment and solidarity of the Spanish people" to the Ukrainian refugees who are in Spain and has guaranteed them that, during the time they are among us, they will be able to feel at home, "with all the rights, permissions and capabilities" to meet their needs.

He made this assurance during his visit to the Centre for the Care, Reception and Referral of Ukrainian Refugees in Pozuelo de Alarcón, where he was accompanied by the Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, José Luis Escrivá.

The president assured that the Government of Spain had already prepared all the logistics for the care of the Ukrainian refugees, which, above all, "will be coordinated from three cities with a large representation of the Ukrainian community", which are Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante, where the three care and first reception centres have been prepared. In this regard, he stressed that "we have approved a plan for the reception and protection of refugees and we have increased the number of places available for them by 12,000".

In addition to providing them with all the rights and information, Sánchez also pointed out that "all the administrative procedures" to be carried out, including permissions for those who want to work, "will be sped up as much as possible".

"In short, Spain is going to set an example of solidarity, coordination, collaboration and inter-institutional cooperation," said the president. He thanked the NGOs and the third sector for the work they do in our country, as the collaboration between public institutions and these actors "means that we can organise solidarity much better and provide more guarantees, more security and more certainty to those who come to our country", he said.

A plane carrying Ukrainian children suffering from cancer arrives tomorrow

Pool Moncloa / Borja Puig de la BellacasaDuring his speech, the head of the Executive announced that on Friday, around 5 or 6 p.m., a plane chartered by the Spanish Ministry of Defence will arrive with 20 or 30 Ukrainian children suffering from some form of cancer, accompanied by their families.

The aim, he said, is to "give particular attention to children suffering from any type of illness so that they can be properly attended to with the greatest guarantees in our country's health network".

Russia's criminal acts cannot go unpunished

Sánchez insisted that "the struggle of the Ukrainian people today is the struggle of Spain, of Europe and, I would say, of the world", because "they are attacking civil society indiscriminately, violating human rights and probably committing war crimes, which cannot and must not go unpunished".

In this regard, he recalled that Spain, together with other countries, is promoting an investigation at the International Criminal Court to ensure that these criminal acts do not go unpunished.

Non official translation