Ukraine's Zelenskiy appeals for energy infrastructure aid at Madrid summit

MADRID, Nov 5 - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to the Ibero-American Summit on Thursday to help his country rebuild and maintain its war-damaged energy infrastructure, calling for urgent supplies of transformers, cables, generators and other electrical equipment.Addressing leaders gathered in Madrid, he said Russia had damaged every power plant in the country through missile and drone attacks, forcing energy workers to carry out constant repairs to prevent a nationwide blackout.• Zelenskiy said Ukraine was interested in obtaining transformers from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia; cables from Chile; and electrical equipment and generators from Spain. He urged governments to help connect Kyiv with companies able to provide compatible equipment quickly.• He also called on countries not to remain silent about what he described as Russian war crimes, citing a recent attack on a school where civilians had gathered to receive humanitarian aid. He said thousands of Ukrainian children had been taken to Russia and appealed for greater international pressure on Moscow.• Zelenskiy said the war had transformed modern security needs, highlighting the importance of drones, electronic warfare systems and air defences, and he invited countries to cooperate with Ukraine on defence technology initiatives.• Zelenskiy unexpectedly travelled to Spain for talks on boosting Kyiv's air defences and top-level meetings during the Ibero-American Summit.• Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Ukraine deserved support because there was an "aggressor and a victim", with Russia violating international law and Ukraine defending its freedom and sovereignty. He said backing Kyiv was also in Europe's interest. REUTERS