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Spanish village changes its name to Ukraine

In a show of solidarity to war-torn Ukraine, one Spanish village has renamed itself and its road signs.

Published: 17 April 2022 11:11 CEST
spanish word of the day guerra
One small southern Spanish village has changed its name to Ukraine in a show of solidarity. Photo: STEFANIE LOOS / AFP

The small village of Fuentes de Andalucía in southern Spain has taken an original stand against Russia’s invasion by temporarily changing its name to ‘Ukraine’.

Located in the Seville region and home to just over 7,000 inhabitants, the village now known as ‘Ukraine’ has also renamed some of its streets after Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Kherson and Odesa.

People arriving to the village are greeted with a ‘Ukraine’ sign alongside a yellow and blue flag, according to Spanish newspaper El Diario.

The mayor of the town, Francisco Martinez, said: “If the children of the village see how we help Ukraine, they will grow up in solidarity. What we are doing is sending a message to the children of the town, so that they see what is being organised, and that we all help together.”

Syria, Ethiopia, Yemen, Palestine and Afghanistan are also honoured in the town’s street names and points of interest.

READ ALSO: Spanish PM sees possible ‘genocide’ in Ukraine

“It is all the result of the work that has been done for many years in this town, to show our support for people who are having a hard time in different parts of the world,” he added.

The village also plans to offer homes to up to 25 Ukraine refugees at a new centre or with families.

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POLITICS

Jailed Spanish reporter in Poland freed as part of prisoner swap

A Spanish reporter of Russian origin held in Poland suspected of spying for Moscow is among 26 prisoners released Thursday in Ankara in a major swap involving Russia and Western nations.

Published: 2 August 2024 09:08 CEST
Jailed Spanish reporter in Poland freed as part of prisoner swap

“Journalist Pablo González, who was imprisoned in Poland for more than two years and five months on espionage charges, has been released and transferred for the time being to his country of birth,” his lawyer Gonzalo Boye said in a statement sent to AFP.

“This release has taken place in the framework of an exchange between Russia and Poland of journalists imprisoned in both countries,” the statement added.

The Turkish presidency, which coordinated the prisoner exchange, said it had included Pavel Aleksevich Rubtsov, the name on Gonzalez’s Russian passport.

A US official confirmed that a man with that name, who was detained in Poland, was among those released and going to Russia.

González, who worked for private Spanish television channel La Sexta and online newspaper Público, was detained at the Polish-Ukrainian border in February 2022, shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Poland’s counter-intelligence agency ABW accused González of being an agent of Russia’s military intelligence services GRU.

Born in Russia, González moved to Spain with his mother after his parents divorced when he was nine.

On the two-year anniversary of his arrest in February, Spain called on Poland to present “whatever evidence there may be” against him and to bring him to trial as soon as possible.

Ten Russians, including two minors, were exchanged for 16 westerners and Russians detained in Russia, said a statement released by the Turkish presidency, who coordinated the swap.

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