Portuguese Parliament Speaker arrives in Ukraine
Photo: José Pedro Aguiar-Branco (flickr.com)
Portuguese Assembly President José Pedro Aguiar-Branco arrived in Ukraine on Monday, March 31. He is scheduled to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Público reports.
The Speaker of the Portuguese Parliament arrived, accompanied by MP and former leader of the PS parliamentary faction, Eurico Brilhante Dias, the current president of the Portugal-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group.
Aguiar-Branco is likely to take part in a ceremony commemorating the third anniversary of the Bucha massacre.
He will then attend a summit of parliamentary presidents in Kyiv and later meet with President Zelenskyy and Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk.
Portugal's assistance to Ukraine
In March 2023, three Leopard 2A6 tanks were delivered from Portugal to Ukraine. In April of the same year, it was announced that five rescue and medical armored vehicles would be delivered.
In September 2024, Portugal handed over 6 Russian-made Ka-32 firefighting helicopters to Ukraine. And in early March this year, Portugal handed over 8 SA-330 Puma helicopters to Ukraine as part of a military aid package approved at the end of 2024.
Portugal is actively lobbying for Ukraine's accession to the EU. In particular, the country calls on the bloc to start preparing for Ukraine's possible accession to the EU.
Portugal also plans to reduce the share of imports of Russian liquefied natural gas, replacing it with American and Nigerian gas.
